


The Heart Of Me

by KD (AbstractSong101)



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Homeless, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Time, Kink Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:36:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4033735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbstractSong101/pseuds/KD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for <a href="http://glee-kink-meme.livejournal.com/41745.html?thread=57491729">this</a> prompt on the GKM</p><p>"When Kurt and Blaine finally meet, Blaine is homeless.... Realizing that Kurt's soulmate has no home, Burt insists that Blaine move into the Hudson-Hummel house."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Burt Hummel shuffled his papers around on the ostentatious wooden desk he was sitting at, trying to sort them into some semblance of order. He had a lot to get through before he could head home, and he was desperate to be back in his own bed as soon as he could manage it. Being a Congressman was everything he could have wanted, but it was damn hard. Sometimes he missed working with cars; seeing his family every day.

Nancy, his assistant, knocked on the door apologetically. She was a godsend for Burt, arranging his life so that it was just about manageable. His calendar was updated multiple times a day, with reminders sent to his cell phone for any activities which were out of his normal routine. She booked all his flights to and from DC, fitting Carole in whenever she was free to accompany him. His emails and paperwork were all sorted through before they ever reached him, and pre-arranged into categories for him.

“Mr. Hummel?” No matter how many times Burt had told her to call him by his first name, she’d never got out of the habit of addressing him formally. He’d long since give up correcting her. “There are some people here to see you. I know it’s after hours, but it was the only time they could get here. I can ask them to come back next week, though, if you’re too busy?”

The clock on the wall was ticking almost obnoxiously, mocking Burt as the seconds he’d hoped to steal for his family tapped away.

He sighed.

“I’ll see them. Where are they from?”

“They’re from the young people’s homeless shelter in Westerville.”

Burt nodded, hastily rearranging the papers on his desk in an attempt to make himself appear slightly more in control than he actually was. Politics often was about lying to the electorate ( _“presenting an image,”_ he reminded himself _)_ , but this was the furthest Burt would allow himself to go, and that was more because Carole insisted no one would put their faith in a Congressman who couldn’t even organize his _desk_.

A pair of hands swept over the opposite side of the desk, and Burt smiled gratefully at Nancy as she gathered up a pile of papers in her arms.

“I’ll see if I can help you with these while you’re seeing them,” she offered. “I know you want to get home sometime before dawn breaks.”

“Thanks, Nancy.” He took one last look at his desk, trying to see it through Carole’s eyes, and eventually deeming it tidy enough to show to the general public. “Send them in.”

He shuffled a little in his chair, trying to sit up a little straighter in spite of his desperate need to relax. A bottle of water sat on the opposite side of the desk as his computer monitor – a concession to Kurt, who wanted him to cut down on the amount of caffeine he drank – and he took a quick swig, trying to freshen his mouth. It had been a long day, with an unnatural amount of talking involved, and he was starting to realize why Kurt was so quiet after his glee club rehearsals.

The door creaked open once again, and Nancy led his visitors into the room. There was a lady who appeared to be about Burt’s age, flanked by two kids, a boy and a girl, who seemed too nervous to even meet Burt’s eyes, far more focused on the floor. He stood up to greet them.

“Helen Worthington from the Westerville homeless shelter to see you, Mr. Hummel,” Nancy announced.

“Thank you, Nancy. Could I trouble you for some refreshments, too? Make sure you get yourself a drink as well.”

Nancy smiled at him. “Right away, Mr. Hummel.”

The visitors were hovering by the door, and Burt gestured for them to come in further. “Take a seat, please.”

He left the door open. There was no one left near who could eavesdrop on their conversation, and it would make Nancy’s life slightly easier when she returned with a tray of drinks.

There was an area of the office with some more comfortable seating, a couch and some chairs, and his visitors perched nervously on the edge of the couch while Burt sat in a seat opposite them.

“So, how can I help you guys today?”

Helen cleared her throat. She was sitting up straight, fiddling with her nails, and Burt wished desperately that he could help people be less nervous in his presence. “We’re actually not here to ask for help, Mr. Hummel,” she said.

There was a slightly awkward pause, while Burt waited for them to elaborate. Helen nudged the girl sitting next to her, whispering something in her ear.

“We’re here to say thank you,” the girl finally said, a slightly bored edge to her voice. “My name is Santana, and I had to move out of my abuela’s house when my soulmate’s name appeared.”

“I’m Blaine,” the boy cut in. His eyes finally lifted to meet Burt’s, and a wave of fatherly instinct crashed over Burt. He just wanted to wrap the kid up in a hug, this boy looked utterly broken. “My parents kicked me out when they realized my sexuality wasn’t just a phase.” He waved his arm around vaguely.

Burt swallowed down against the rising anger he felt towards these kids’ families. When the first wave of names started appearing on people’s arms about fifteen years earlier, LGBTQ groups had hoped that the biological confirmation would put an end to homophobia. While it did make some headway into the problem, it hadn’t ridded the world of it immediately, and Burt suddenly realized why these people had come to visit him.

“The campaigning that you have done for young people, and the LGBTQ community in general, has helped our shelter beyond all expectation, Mr. Hummel,” Helen continued. “After your impassioned speech earlier in the year, we saw donations almost quadruple. We were able to expand our shelter, and help even more young people.”

“They wouldn’t have had room for us, if it hadn’t been for you,” Blaine added shyly. He met Burt’s eyes briefly, and Burt tried to smile encouragingly at him.

“We have set up a schooling program,” Helen continued, “so that these kids don’t fall behind in their studies, which had been a major issue for a lot of them. Most of them rock up at our door with no identification, and no transcripts, but with these donations, we’ve been able to get most of them right back on track. It’s not ideal, of course, but it’s changed for the better in the last few years, and a lot of that is thanks to you.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Burt smiled. It was such a personal issue for him, and knowing that there were still kids out there who were discriminated against as a result of their sexuality had been a major motivator in his unrelenting push in Congress for recognition of the issues these kids faced. “Obviously, our work is far from over, in an ideal world, no one would be going through what you guys have dealt with. But I’m glad to hear we are making some headway. I’d be interested to hear how you guys think we could improve things, if you’re free to stay for a while?”

He tried not to let his gaze drift to the clock. Staying to chat with these visitors would mean he’d most likely miss seeing Kurt and Finn before they went to bed, but he was sure they wouldn’t mind when they heard the reasons why.

At that moment, Nancy slipped back into the room with a tray full of drinks and cookies. She smiled warmly at everyone as she carefully placed it on the table.

“Help yourselves,” Burt offered, picking up an oat cookie for himself – the most healthy choice on the tray. Nancy retired back to her pile of work in the other room, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could hear if she was needed for anything.

Santana grabbed a cookie from the tray immediately, while Helen reached to pour herself a coffee.

“Blaine?” Burt asked. “Do you want anything? You’re more than welcome, or if you want a soda, there is a machine right down the hall.”

Blaine smiled shyly at him. “I’m good, thank you anyway, Mr. Hummel.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ve got some coins in my desk draw. My son would be pleased that I’m not spending it on bad stuff for myself,” he laughed sadly. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that he wouldn’t make it home in time to see Kurt or Finn before they were in bed. Again.

“So how old are you guys?” he asked, trying to pull his thoughts away from what he was missing. These kids didn’t have their parents in their lives at all; Kurt and Finn could survive one extra night.

“I’m seventeen,” Santana answered around a mouthful of cookie.

“Sixteen,” Blaine said.

“Ah, so you’ve got your full mark already, Santana?”

Soulmate marks revealed themselves over a period of two years, starting to appear around a person’s fifteenth birthday, and fully scripted by the time your seventeenth birthday rolled around. Generally, they appeared letter by letter, but there were anomalies recorded where a surname would appear first.

“Yep,” she confirmed, fingers tapping along her arm. “I knew already though, really. It’s a girl from my old high school. Once we’re both graduated we’re going to go and live on the east coast together.”

“How about you, Blaine? Are you far off getting your full mark?”

“I don’t know. I only have the first two letters of his surname so far, but I guess I don’t know how long his name is, yet. His first name is Kurt, though.”

He said it casually, finally allowing himself to pick some food up from the plate in front of him, unaware that the foundations of Burt’s world had just shaken slightly. It was unusual for people to so casually reveal their soulmates, although not unheard of. It was easier when the full name wasn’t shown – there was less chance of anyone with nefarious purposes being able to pose as a soulmate convincingly when they didn’t know the whole name.

“What’s the beginning of his surname?” Burt asked Blaine, trying not to let his voice belie any of his urgency.

“Hu,” Blaine said, frowning slightly as he chewed on a nibble of his cookie. “The next letter looks like an n or an m. I’m not sure yet.” He shrugged nonchalantly, taking a bigger bite.

Burt swallowed, trying to compose himself.

“I’ve just realized, I need to make a phone call,” he said, standing up carefully, as unhurriedly as he could manage. He didn’t want to alarm his visitors. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll leave you guys with some paper so you can make some notes for what you think needs some more improvement, where funds need to be directed. Anything you think that I can help with, okay?”

He grabbed his cell phone, and rushed out of the room, startling Nancy as he did so.

“Can you just sit in there for a few minutes? They’ll need some stationery. I just have to call home about something.”

She nodded and hurried to comply.

The conference room down the hall was empty, and Burt’s phone was already dialing out by the time he hastily shut the doors behind him.

Kurt answered right away. Like he always did.

“Hey, Dad,” he greeted. “Are you on your way home?”

Burt’s heart clenched. Kurt was okay these days. School had become easier, glee club had ensued he had a solid group of friends, but Burt never got to spend as much time with his son as he wanted to, and he sometimes worried that Kurt was missing out. “Not yet, kiddo, I’m sorry. Some people rocked up, and I needed to see them.”

Kurt sighed softly, but didn’t complain. He never did. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I was just wondering – and you know I wouldn’t ask unless I had a reason, but you can say no if you want to – but what is the name written on your arm?”  
His question was met with silence.

Then.

“My soulmate mark? Why?”

“It’s a long story, but there’s a kid here with the name Kurt on his arm. He’s only sixteen, so he doesn’t have a surname yet, but it kinda looks like he’s working up to Hummel, too. I was just… wondering.”

“What’s his name?” Kurt asked, his voice shaky.

Burt sighed. In his eagerness to speak to Kurt, he’d forgotten to collect the information he needed. “I only know his first name.” he admitted.” It’s Blaine.”

Kurt gasped.

Burt reached a shaky hand out to a chair, sitting down unsteadily. “Is that the name you have, Kurt?”

“Yes,” Kurt replied breathlessly. “Yeah. It’s Blaine Anderson.”

“Kurt, this kid is homeless, okay? He’s in a shelter right now, but…” he trailed off, not even sure where the sentence was leading, what he was thinking. His mind was whirring, there were so many factors at play.

“We can’t leave him there.” Kurt rescued him once more. Considering they were such different people, Kurt was remarkably in tune with how his dad thought.

“Exactly. But I can’t just remove him and bring him home, his mark isn’t even full yet.”

Kurt groaned, his frustration palpable even on the other end of a phone line. “But mine is.”

“I don’t even know his surname, yet, Kurt.”

“It’s him, Dad, I know it is. I’ve been feeling on edge all day, and now I know why. It’s because you’ve met my soulmate.” There was a pause. An intake of breath. “Holy crap.”

Burt laughed softly, despite himself. “I’ll try to figure something out, okay?”

“Thanks, Dad. I just need to know he’s okay and safe.”

“I know. I’ll do my best, okay? I’ll see you later.” Burt knew there was no way that Kurt would be asleep when he arrived home, no matter what time it was. “I need to go and talk to these people some more. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Dad. Bye.”

Burt refilled his bottle of water from the fountain in the corridor on the way back to his office, taking a few seconds to himself to gather his thoughts. While he stood there, he sent a quick text to Carole, asking her to check in on Kurt. His heart ached, knowing that Kurt was o doubt in his room, aloe, trying to deal with his thoughts and feelings, and he wished desperately that he could be there for him.

Kurt loved Carole, though, and Carole loved Kurt just as much. They’d be fine, Burt reassured himself, until he got home.

When he reentered his office, he was greeted by Blaine – _his son’s soulmate; his future son-in-law_ – standing up and talking animatedly. Both Nancy and Helen were watching him with fond smiles on their faces, while Santana seemed as uninterested as she had been earlier – face impassive as she watched Blaine.

He glanced at Burt, and his tirade faltered.

Burt smiled gently at him. “Carry on, Blaine.”

“I just think there needs to be more education for old people, you know? This soulmate stuff is so new – they’ve never been through it themselves, and old people don’t cope well with change. Maybe they need some help to deal with it, too. I mean,” he glanced around the room with a wince, “No offence.”

Burt rolled his eyes fondly, taking a few more steps towards his visitors. “None taken, and you’re completely right, Blaine, we need to look at support systems for parents and caregivers.”

It was something Burt had been thinking about for a while, and he was impressed that the same idea had occurred to Blaine. Teenagers weren’t renowned for thinking outside of their own headspace. Failing to educate the parents of the kids who were going though soulmate matching had been a major misstep by the previous administration, albeit an understandable one.  The whole world had been in turmoil, but none moreso than the young people – who already had so much to deal with – having to navigate these new waters with no help from anyone else.

Blaine nodded, almost tripping over his own feet as he returned to the couch. He flashed a small smile towards Helen, who smiled encouragingly back at him. Burt watched him, noting the slight flush on the back of his neck. Another pang of fatherly pride buzzed through Burt’s body. Blaine was clearly nervous about speaking his mind, but he’d done so anyway, articulately and politely – and Burt had enough experience around teenage boys to know that these things did not come naturally, even at the best of times.

“I think,” Burt said, sitting back down on his chair, “That we should all work together. You guys have insights into this which I don’t. We can set up a focus group, and develop some ideas. How does that sound?”

“That sounds wonderful,” Helen said. She squeezed Blaine’s knee, and he grinned up at Burt.  
Burt glanced at the clock, a small plan occurring to him.

“Have you guys had dinner?”

All three of his visitors shook their heads.

“Well, the cafeteria is shut now, but I happen to know that they leave a ton of leftovers in the fridge overnight. It’ll go to homeless shelters in the morning, but they don’t mind if I dip into them when I’m working late. And since you guys are from a shelter anyway, I guess this is just skipping a step.”

He looked at Nancy, willing her to go along with the plan unquestioningly.

“Why don’t you take Blaine and Santana down to pick out some meals? You guys can heat them up down there and borrow one of the food carts to bring them back up here. I promise the food is delicious, even reheated.” He turned to Blaine and Santana, whose eyes were wide. “Helen and I can get started on the boring details while you’re there. You know what she likes to eat, right?”

They nodded, and followed suit when Nancy stood up.

“Just grab me something my son would approve of,” Burt said, chuckling slightly. It would be easy to cheat on his healthy eating when Kurt wasn’t around, but a sense of honor generally prevented Burt from doing so. Except when he was watching sports. Then, he allowed himself a couple of beers and some wings, but the beer was light, and the wings were baked, not fried.

“Don’t forget to get something for yourself, Nancy,” he called after them. She probably worked harder than he did, and he often had to remind her to take breaks for herself.

Once he heard the outer door close, he turned to face Helen again.

“Okay, I really do want to discuss details of a focus group with you, but I need to tell you something else, first, while the kids are out of the room.”

Surprise washed over Helen’s face, her eyes flicking to the door, and Burt rushed to clue her in.

“I think… I mean, I’m pretty sure that Blaine is my son’s soulmate. His surname is Anderson, isn’t it?”

His question was met with silence, but Helen managed a nod, otherwise dumbstruck.

“Well, my son’s name is Kurt, Kurt Hummel. I called him when I left the room earlier, and he was the one who told me Blaine’s surname.”

He paused, letting the information sink in. Helen reached for her drink, hands shaking slightly. The air conditioner was whirring noisily, a sound which Burt had learned to ignore, suddenly loud and obnoxious when

it was the only sound in the room as Helen struggled with the information.

“I know that this is… unusual,” Burt said, clawing around in his mind for the right words. “But you realize that I can’t leave Blaine in this situation, knowing who he is.”

Helen swallowed, carefully placing her mug back onto the table, and sat a little straighter. “Of course, I understand your feelings, but you can’t just sweep in and remove Blaine. There are procedures in place for a reason. Even for congressmen.”

Burt’s heart sank. In his head, the conversation had been a lot easier. People were meant to want kids out of the system, right?

“So, what is the process, then?”

“Well first, I think we need to let Blaine know. He deserves to be an active participant in any decisions about his future.”

Burt nodded. Blaine seemed to be a smart young man, his input into the situation was necessary, and needed.

“I’ll take Santana outside when they come back, so you two can talk for a while in private,” Helen said. “And I’ll make sure to give you my cell phone number before we leave later so we can go over any arrangementsat a more convenient time. I don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss all of this in front of Santana.”

“Okay, I agree with that. There’s a stash of fresh fruit in the cafeteria which they may have missed, it might provide you with a good reason to go back. Nancy can show you the way.”

A wave of nausea passed over Burt. Kurt’s future depended on this conversation. Sure, Kurt and Blaine could meet some other time, but this was the opportunity which had been handed down to them. What if this was their only chance?

He put it to the back of his mind.

“I do want to speak to you about possible schemes for parents and caregivers. Would it be feasible for you to get some feedback from the shelter, and then maybe meet up again in a month or so to see where we are?”

Helen pulled a black diary from her bag. It was almost breaking at the spine, shoved full of pieces of paper. The curse of a busy life. “I’ll have to see what days we have cover at the shelter,” she said, leafing through the pages slowly. “I know your time is precious, but there aren’t many volunteers to work with young people. They’re too much like hard work.”

“I’ll have Nancy check my diary,” Burt replied kindly. “I’m sure we can find a mutually convenient date in there somewhere. I’m eager for this to go ahead; I think it could be hugely beneficial.”

They were interrupted by the rattle of wheels from the outer room, and Burt stood up, nerves rushing to return.

He opened the door, welcoming everyone back in, and trying not to breathe in too deeply. The cafeteria food was delicious, but even that knowledge wouldn’t stop the rolling in his stomach.

Helen quickly glanced over the food, and stood up. “Santana, I’ve got a real hankering for some apples. Will you come with me to go and get some? It’ll save me taking the cart down.”

“Nancy can show you two the way back down,” Burt offered. “This place can be a bit of a labyrinth.”

For her part, Nancy didn’t even bat an eyelid at the turn of events, instead, simply turning and gesturing for Helen and Santana to follow her.

“I should have thought about fruit,” she laughed as they headed back out of the room. As she turned to shut the door behind her, she winked at Burt. “I was led astray by wayward teenagers.”

Once the chattering from outside had died down, Burt turned to Blaine. He was perched nervously on the sofa, plates laid out of the table in front of him, untouched. Cutlery was placed neatly next to each plate, and Burt smiled at the gesture. Yes, this boy was definitely meant for Kurt.

“Blaine, I need to tell you something,” he said, immediately regretting the gruffness of his tone. Kurt was always warning him that with his stature and general directness, he could come off intimidating.  Poor Blaine looked like a deer in headlights.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Burt rushed to reassure him, just managing to hold himself back from clasping Blaine’s shoulder. With how nervous Blaine seemed, a friendly shoulder pat probably wouldn’t help anything. ”It’s just something you have a right to know, okay? Don’t panic.”

Blaine nodded, his lips white where they were pressed together. His hands were clasped in his lap, and he sat straight on his chair. Burt took a moment to wonder just where this kid came from; everything about him screamed that he’d had a wealthy upbringing. His parents might not to be too hard to trace, and bring to justice.

“As you already know, I have a son. But what you probably don’t know is that his name is Kurt.” He waited, letting Blaine piece together the puzzle like he had. A tremble worked its way over Blaine’s body, his gaze fixed on his hands and not at Burt. It was a monumental moment in any kid’s life; Burt couldn’t imagine having it compounded by being in the presence of someone who intimidated you.

“Is his surname Hummel, too?” Blaine asked, eventually. His voice was quiet, his hands were shaking even though he had them clasped tightly together, and Burt could barely resist the urge to sweep him up into a hug.

“Yes, it is,” he confirmed.

Blaine’s hand clenched around his forearm, tightening and loosening, over and over again. His gaze was fixed on the floor, but Burt could see a wrinkle between his eyebrows.

Eventually, Blaine spoke. “So he could be my… my soulmate?”

“Well, that’s up to you boys to figure out, but I called him when I went out of the room earlier, and he wants to meet you sometime.”

It was a spur of the moment decision not to tell Blaine that Kurt had his full mark. That the boys could have their own story to tell was important, and anyway, he got the impression that Blaine wouldn’t believe it until he had seen the mark himself.

“I could bring him down to Westerville on Saturday,” Burt offered. “I have some work to do in this office, so I can drop him off on the way. Do you get free time at the weekends?”

Blaine nodded.

“Okay. I’m going to give you his and my cell phone numbers, okay? I know this is a lot to take in, but we’re here for you, I promise. I won’t tell Kurt I’ve passed his number on, so don’t feel like you have to get in touch with him. I’ll need to contact you about Saturday, though, so if I don’t hear from you, I’ll call you via Helen, okay?”

Another nod as Blaine fished in his pocket for his cell phone.

Burt dictated the numbers, repeating them to ensure that Blaine’s trembling fingers didn’t make a mistake.

“The ball’s in your court, okay? If Saturday’s too soon, you just let me know. I won’t tell Kurt about it until Friday morning. He’ll kill me if he doesn’t have enough time to prepare, and I think Friday morning would be his limit.”

Blaine smiled at that, outwardly relaxing slightly for the first time since Burt had started talking. Maybe clothing choices were as important to Blaine as they were to Kurt, But thought. If that was the case, they were definitely well suited to one another.

“Do you have a picture of him?” he asked, suddenly. His eyes darted around the office, pausing on every picture frame he could find.

“I do but…” Burt hesitated, and wished – not for the first time – that he was better with words. Kurt always seemed to know what to say. Politics had taught Burt a little, but teenage boys were in a whole realm of their own when it came to reasoning with them. “I want to leave something for you guys, okay? I don’t want to take all your decisions away from you. If you want to send each other pictures then there’s nothing I can do about that, but Saturday isn’t so far away, is it?”

“I guess not.”

“Helen knows about this, but she decided it was better that Santana didn’t find out for now. It’s up to you, ultimately, who finds out.”

Blaine grimaced, and Burt smiled warmly at him. “I think I’ll keep it between us, if that’s okay?”

“Of course. Now, have I put you off your food entirely or can you still eat?”

Blaine hummed unenthusiastically at his plate.

“Kurt is always on at me to eat well,” Burt cajoled, sitting in front of the casserole he was sure was for him. Nancy always told him that casseroles fed both the body and the soul. “I know I’ve thrown a lot at you in the last five minutes, but you really should try to get some food down you. I don’t want you collapsing on me.”

Hand still trembling, Blaine picked up his fork and started to poke at his dinner. Burt let him ruminate quietly, making no further mention of actually eating anything on his plate.

Soon, Nancy had returned with Helen and Santana, and, while they ate, the group chatted about possible allies in their quest for better soulmate education. Blaine was quiet, but every time Burt caught him staring, he’d smile a little.

They departed after they’d eaten, Helen left her cell phone number with Burt and Nancy, ready to arrange another meeting between them next month.

Burt couldn’t help but squeeze Blaine’s shoulder before they left.

“I’m here for you guys if you need anything, okay?” he offered to the group as they hovered at the door, hoping that Blaine knew that he meant it.

“Thank you,” Helen smiled.

“Yeah, thanks,” Santana added, her focus on the wall behind him.

Blaine looked up at Burt, and _God_ he was so small. “Thanks, Mr. Hummel.”

As he returned to the office, he quickly helped Nancy clear up their dishes.

Once they were all stacked back on the cart, Nancy turned back to him with a grin. “So, do you want to tell me what all that was about?”

Burt laughed dryly, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk. “You don’t have to be home any time soon, do you?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, kid,” Burt greeted, not surprised in the least to see that Kurt was still awake when he arrived home. He didn’t even bother reprimanding him when he bounded to open the door for him, despite it being past midnight on a school night.

It had been a long drive, after an even longer day, and Burt’s eyes were burning, his head pounding, and back aching. All he wanted to do was curl up in his own bed, with his wife next to him, and go to sleep for some real, unbroken rest. But, being a dad was a full time job, and he’d been slacking recently. He owed it to Kurt to power through his tiredness and talk to him, properly.

He’d hugged Kurt the second he’d put his bags down in the hallway, holding him tight and hoping he could squeeze enough love into him to make up for all the time he was away.

“Hi, Dad,” Kurt replied, wriggling out of his hold after a few seconds and pulling him into the living room, where Carole sat on a sofa, waiting with a tired smile.

“I’ll get us some drinks,” Kurt offered, rushing back out of the room and towards the kitchen.

“He’s a bit excited,” Carole laughed, standing and reaching out to greet Burt. “There was no way he was going to sleep until he’d spoken to you, sorry.” She looked exhausted, and a rush of regret spread through Burt. Carole had to look after two teenagers, and their house, and work crazy shifts at the hospital, and do it all mostly on her own, again. That wasn’t what she signed up for when they married last year.

He hugged her, whispering to let her know that it was fine that Kurt was still up, and they spent a moment of quiet, just enjoying being with each other again. It was rare that they had a moment to themselves, but Kurt and Finn were graduating after the next school year, and both Burt and Carole were painfully aware that there would be near-interminable quiet when the boys moved out.

They weren’t looking forward to it.

The silence was broken by Kurt bustling back into the room, carefully placing three mugs of hot chamomile tea on the table.

After thanking Kurt, Burt and Carole picked up a drink each, and took their seats on the sofa, Burt casually slinging an arm around Carole’s shoulders. She leaned into him gratefully. Kurt sat on the loveseat, legs curled under him, clutching his mug so hard that it was in danger of breaking, and nearly vibrating out of his skin.

“You need to tell me everything,” he implored immediately. His leg was shaking underneath him, and Burt could feel Carole tensing as she anticipated a spill. “What was he like? Why was he there? Is he okay? Can you get him out of the shelter?”

“Okay, okay, slow down, buddy,” Burt said, trying to stifle the laugh that threatened. He took a sip of his tea, and sat forward a little, his hand coming to rest on Carole’s knee instead of her shoulder. Having someone with him in these moments meant more than he had ever realized it would. A few years ago, he’d wondered if he and Kurt were going to make it out of the other side of Kurt’s teenage years unscathed, but now, with Carole’s help, they all seemed to be doing okay, so far.

“Blaine was there with a couple of others from the shelter he’s living at – they came to say thanks for all the work I’ve been doing for LGBT rights in Congress. So, he’s already a fan of our family. You’re welcome.” Burt smiled at Kurt, who was hanging on his every word. His tireless efforts to eradicate inequality were all as a result of having Kurt in his life, and Kurt knew it. “He seems like a decent kid, a little shy, but he’s polite. I liked him.”

Kurt’s face lit up, and then fell into a frown almost immediately. “He’s doing okay, though? He’s not hurt or anything?”

Burt nodded, taking a second to really think back to how Blaine acted when he was in his office. The shyness could have covered a multitude of ills, but his relationship with Helen had appeared to be a good one. “He seems to be okay, yeah. I don’t know his exact circumstances, and I’m sure whatever led him there has left its mark on him, but the shelter he’s at sounds like a good place.”

“He can’t stay there forever, no matter how nice it is,” Kurt said, scraping at the handle of his mug with his thumbnail.

“I know,” Burt replied. He was aching to go over and hug Kurt, but he wasn’t sure that would be appreciated while they were in the middle of such a heavy conversation. Navigating relationships with teenagers was tricky, even when the teenager was as forthright as Kurt was. “There’s a bunch of red tape around getting him out, but I’ve spoken to one of the workers there – Helen, who came to my office with him – and we’re going to do our best to get him out, okay? We exchanged numbers, and we’ll work on it, I promise.”

Kurt nodded, sitting back in his seat slightly. Burt felt a little of the tension leave his own body at the sight. “What did he look like?”

“I think you’ll approve,” Burt laughed, thinking back to how well put-together Blaine had been. Burt wasn’t one for fashion, but he knew enough to notice that Blaine clearly took pride in his appearance. “But I wouldn’t show him a picture of you, so I’m not going to tell you what he looked like, either. That wouldn’t be fair. But, trust me, you’ll like him.”

Burt’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket and, whilst he’d normally ignore the interruption during family time, he had the sudden urge to check who it was. He apologetically held a finger up to Kurt – who was clearly gearing up to an argument about why he should hear more about Blaine – and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

It was Blaine.

_“Hi, Mr. Hummel. I wanted to say thank you again, and to let you know that I really want to meet Kurt on Saturday, if that’s still okay? I will message Kurt, too – I don’t know if you want to pre-warn him that I have his number? Yours, Blaine Anderson”_

Burt smiled, and took a moment to type out a reply, letting him know that Saturday was fine, and he and Kurt could make the arrangements between themselves. He was happy to drive them into Columbus, and he added that into his message, even though he was fair confident that neither boy would want to take him up on that offer.

He looked up once he was sure that the message had sent, and smiled at his son.

“That was Blaine,” he told him, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Kurt’s jaw dropped. “You guys are texting?!”

Burt held his hands up, a gesture of peace. “I offered to facilitate a meet up between you guys at the weekend, if you wanna do that? I want to give you a ride down to Westerville, because I don’t trust you to be driving on the roads when you’re about to do something so monumental, okay? It wouldn’t be safe. I won’t hang around – I need to go into the office on Saturday anyway.”

He stole a glance at Carole, who was hiding her fond smile at Kurt behind her hand. For his part, Kurt looked like he’d just been hit over the head with a hammer.

“This weekend,” he repeated slowly.

“Yeah.”

Kurt stood up suddenly, pacing up and down in front of the fireplace, turning sharply on his heel each time. “I’m meeting my soulmate in three days.”

“Yeah.”

One of Kurt’s hands was in his hair, tugging at it as he paced. His other rested on his hip. “Three days! That isn’t enough time to get ready, Dad! How am I meant to put together the perfect outfit when I have three days, two of which will be spent wasting my time at school, and the other one lost to travelling? Oh my God, I need to find something which won’t wrinkle horribly in the car, too. I might have to take a day off school to plan.”

Burt raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment. Kurt’s mind was already flipping through his closet, and there was no way he was coming back for rational conversation any time soon.

Unless...

“I gave him your cell phone number.”

Kurt stopped dead, and turned to face Burt, outfits completely forgotten.

“You did what?”

“I gave him your cell phone number,” Burt repeated. “I figured you guys would want to arrange your date yourselves, and not via me.”

“My phone is in my bedroom, charging,” Kurt squeaked, eyes wide. “What if he’s already sent me a message and now he thinks I’m ignoring him? Dad! What were you thinking? This could be disastrous.”

With that, he rushed out of the room.

Burt and Carole turned to each other, almost too stunned to move for a second. Kurt was a whirlwind; a whirlwind of teenage emotions and angst, and sometimes second guessing him was impossible.

“I hope Blaine is equipped to deal with dramatics. I think Kurt has been taking lessons from Rachel,” Burt laughed, leaning back and allowing Carole to cuddle close to him once more. He liked Rachel, even if he didn’t understand her a lot of the time, but the kid was a train of crazy, sometimes.

“If they’re soulmates, I’m sure he can cope with it,” Carole mumbled into his chest. She yawned, and he rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, trying to massage some relaxation into it. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s been a long week.”

“You can go to bed if you need to,” he offered. They tried to take on the parenting of both boys, but Carole had been doing more than her fair share recently. “It’s gonna take a while to peel Kurt off the roof, you don’t have to hang around for it, we’ll be fine.”

“Maybe with two of us we’ll get him down faster,” Carole said, scratching her fingers gently against Burt’s chest.

He felt his headache lessen slightly and, once again, he thanked God that she had come into his life, and changed it so much for the better. Thanked God for Kurt and his, albeit misguided, meddling ways.

Kurt’s footsteps became clearer, and Carole pushed away slightly from Burt and sat up a little straighter. His pace was slow, but he had emerged from his room quickly after going in, so Burt was fairly confident that Blaine hadn’t been in touch yet. That wasn’t entirely surprising given Blaine’s obvious shyness. He probably was typing and retyping messages, trying to find the perfect wording. Burt would place bets on the fact that Kurt wouldn’t hear from him until at least tomorrow morning.

He schooled his expression into something appropriately somber seconds before Kurt returned to the room.

“Anything?”

“No,” Kurt said, throwing himself down on the loveseat once more. He twirled his phone between his fingers, bouncing it off the cushioned arm of his chair repeatedly, stopping every few turns to check if any messages had escaped his notice.

“He might have gone to sleep,” Burt said. Trying to reason with Kurt was probably futile, but it was still worth a shot, he was obviously disappointed. “It’s gone midnight, and the poor kid has had a stressful day.”

“He texted you,” Kurt sighed, sadly. The speed of his phone spins slowed.

Burt rolled his eyes fondly. “He sent me a message to let me know he wanted to meet you, and so that I could let you know that he has your number. He hasn’t sent another message since, so we can assume he’s either asleep, or deliberating over what to say to you. Either way, spinning your phone isn’t going to make a text come through any faster.”

In response, he received a glare from Kurt, and he could feel Carole chuckle next to him.

He held his hands up in surrender for the second time that evening. “I’m just trying to help, kiddo.”

Kurt deflated slightly. “I know. I know. Sorry.”

“You need to get some sleep,” Burt said, smiling gently. Kurt was always cranky when he didn’t get the right amount of sleep, he’d been that way as a baby, and never really grown out of the habit. Reminding him of that wouldn’t go over well, though. Burt needed to be diplomatic, or else this conversation would go on for hours. “You have school tomorrow, and no doubt the minute that Blaine texts you, you’ll be too busy speaking to him to even think about sleeping. Is all your homework done? I’m sure you don’t want that hanging over you.”

“Yeah, I did it all earlier this evening, most of it before you even called,” Kurt sighed. Burt felt Carole nodding next to him, and he relaxed a little. “Just... tell me a little more about him, please? Then I’ll go to bed.”

There was no way Kurt would rest without some more information, so Burt settled back into his seat, trying to think of anything else he could say about Blaine, anything else he could remember about Blaine.

“I don’t know that much about him, okay?” he warned. “We didn’t spend that long together, and most of that time we were with other people, and the time we were alone, I spent giving him some of the biggest news of his life. I didn’t have time to ask for his coffee order, all right?”

Kurt nodded.

“Well, he seems smart. Like I told you when I called, he’s only sixteen, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He was coming up with some clever ideas about soulmate education. I looked over some of the notes he’d made after they’d left, and they were well presented, and clearly written. I have a feeling he comes from money – or at least he used to, I guess.” Burt grimaced, thinking of the situation that Blaine had found himself in, through no fault of his own. “Nancy said he was charming, and handsome, and that you guys are well suited, if that helps?”

Nancy adored Kurt, and Burt knew that the feeling was mutual. Her approval would mean a lot to him.

“I’m not sure exactly what made Helen choose him to come to see me.” Burt thought of Santana’s attitude, and couldn’t reconcile it with the choice of bringing her with Blaine. Their differences were conspicuous. “Obviously she thinks pretty highly of him if she wanted him to represent the shelter. And he represented it well. He was polite, and well-mannered, a real credit to the place.”

“How was he dressed?”

Burt groaned. He’d been waiting for this question, but he was still unprepared “I don’t know, kid. In clothes. Nice clothes. Not flannel.”

“Dad!” Kurt was obviously dismayed, and Burt had to hold back his laughter.

“I’m sorry! I guess if I don’t know what he’s wearing, it means good things, right? Like, it’s not gonna be from Target.”

Kurt groaned, hiding his head in his hands.

“The kid looked smart, Kurt, he wasn’t in sweatpants or anything. He had a bow tie on.”

So slowly it was almost comical, Kurt lifted his head and stared at Burt.

“A bow tie?” he repeated, incredulous.

“Yeah.”

“That’s…” he sighed, nodding slightly. “I could work with that.”

“Kurt, you guys are soulmates, he’s not gonna be someone incompatible on a fundamental level – he’s gonna have to be interested in fashion.”

He paused, and shrugged at his son, who was – even after seventeen years – clearly horrified that his father didn’t know more about clothing styles.

Carole chipped in as silence descended on the men in the room. “Don’t judge him too much on how he’s dressed, though, okay, Kurt? I know you love fashion, but Blaine is homeless; I’m assuming that he doesn’t have much cash. He probably can’t afford much, and if he’s anything like you, he’ll be doing the best he can on a limited budget.”

Kurt stared at her, nodding slowly, the reminder of Blaine’s situation abating some of his ire towards his father.

“On Saturday, make sure you arrange to go somewhere he won’t feel under pressure to spend out more than he can afford,” she continued, smiling warmly at him. “I know you want it to be spectacular, but maybe just the movie theater or the mall? Something simple like that.”

“The mall?” Kurt said, appalled by the mere suggestion.

“You guys are going to want to talk more than anything, Kurt. A coffee shop or somewhere like that would be perfect for chatting quietly, getting to know each other. You can buy both your drinks when you arrive, and you can nurse them for as long as possible. Maybe get a couple of cookies to share?”

“I’ve got some free vouchers to a few restaurants in and around Columbus, you could take them with you, then that way you’re both getting a free meal,” Burt added, looking to Carole for her approval.

She nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

“I don’t mind paying for our date,” Kurt said earnestly. “I can hold off on that McQueen sweater I was thinking about. I’m sure he’d pay if he could.”

“It’s about pride, though, Kurt,” Carole argued. Her voice was low, trying to put her case to him as softly as possible. “You have the rest of your lives to be spectacular together, but you need to start out on the right foot. You’d feel embarrassed if the roles were reversed, right? And Blaine already knows that you’re aware he’s living in a shelter. You paying for the whole date would most likely only serve to make him feel bad about himself. If we’re looking at this kid living with us, we don’t want him to feel like he’s a complete charity case before we even begin, yeah?”

“Living with us?” Kurt gasped, eyes flicking between Carole and Burt.

Burt frowned, unsure why Kurt was so surprised. He’d thought it was obvious that they would let Blaine stay with them until he was back on his feet. “Where else would he go, Kurt? I can’t get him out of the shelter and then send him to live somewhere else. He’s part of the family.”

Kurt smiled slowly, and Burt and Carole found themselves smiling back, his eyes were so full of love for them both. Teenage boys were incredibly tough sometimes, but they had a couple of gems in Kurt and Finn, and both adults were grateful for that.

“Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Carole.”

He stood up, concentrating on delicately brushing something off the leg of his pants for a couple of seconds. Burt smiled at the gesture. “I think I’m going to head to bed now, I’m exhausted. Sorry for keeping you guys up so late.”

“Goodnight, Kurt,” Carole said, standing up to hug him tightly. She barely reached his shoulder after his last growth spurt, but he allowed her to hug him as she would if he was smaller. “Try to get at least some sleep tonight, okay? You don’t need to be loopy due to lack of sleep when Blaine gets in touch.”

“I’ll do my best,” he laughed, giving her a final squeeze before stepping back out of the hug. “The tea helped a little, and this talk helped more. I feel a lot calmer now.”

“I’m glad. Goodnight, buddy,” Burt said, stealing a hug for himself. “If you really feel like you need an extra day to get ready, I’ll pull you out of school before lunch on Friday. You’ll only miss gym and study hall, right?”

Kurt pulled back to beam up at his father. “Yeah, I won’t miss anything too important. And Glee Club, I guess, but they can survive on their own for a day. It’d do them all good to see the dynamics they miss out on when I’m not there! Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“Love you too, buddy. Sleep well.”

Burt relaxed as Kurt’s footsteps quietened, pulling Carole with him to lie back on the couch. “Do you think we could just sleep here? I’m not sure I can make it all the way upstairs.”

“I’m pretty sure it’d scar the boys if they came down in the morning and found us spooning on the couch.” Carole laughed.

“Hey, my baby boy is about to meet his soulmate, it’s gotta be my turn to give him a surprise.”

Carole sat up a little so she could see Burt’s face clearly. “You’re okay with this, though, right?”

Burt hummed, allowing himself to really consider the question for the first time since he realized who Blaine was, a few hours earlier. “Yeah, sure I am. I mean, I could do with another few years of him around but… with everything that kid’s been though? He deserved to get his happily ever after a few years earlier than most.”

He paused, considering his next words carefully. “I just worry about the next couple of years, what we’re going to do with Blaine, you know? Kurt wants to go to New York, but Blaine is a year behind him in school. It wouldn’t be a problem, normally, but what if he doesn’t want to stay with us without Kurt? What if he feels like he shouldn’t be here?”

Carole smiled softly at him. “We’ll make him feel like one of the family, which he is. You did it with me and Finn, and I did it for you and Kurt. We already have practice in this and, yeah, we made a few mistakes along the way, but look at us now. Families are bonded by love, not blood. And we’re going to love Blaine, and he’s going to love us, too. Who wouldn’t?” she added with a cheeky grin.

“I knew I married you for a reason.”

“Well, it wasn’t for my cooking skills,” she laughed. “I had to bring something else to the table.”

“I’m glad you’re around,” Burt said, kissing her cheek and hauling them both upright. “Now, let’s get upstairs before we fall asleep down here, and Kurt refuses to let Blaine move in because we’re so wild and bohemian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/120779166425/the-heart-of-me-ch-2).


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt was at lunch with some of his friends from glee club when his phone buzzed. A preview of the message showed that it wasn’t a number he knew, and he stared at his half-finished, cafeteria-wilted salad for a few seconds, before shoving his chair away from the table and standing up.  
  
“Sorry,” he said to Rachel, who was halfway through a rant about people not appreciating her talent; nothing that Kurt hadn’t heard a hundred times before. “That message was urgent, I need to go and deal with it. I’ll see you in glee later.”  
  
“But, Kurt…” she shouted, but he was halfway across the cafeteria already.  
  
“Bye, Rach.”  
  
He wound his way through the corridors of McKinley, ignoring the comments from a group of jocks he pushed past as he did so. He’d grown used to blocking out their observations, and learned he only needed to worry when he was being shoved into lockers, or thrown into dumpsters. Every classroom he passed seemed to be inhabited, and he could feel the frustration rising within him, clenching and unclenching his fists as he rushed from door to door, heartbeat pounding in his head. All he needed was a quiet space so he could read the message in peace, and he refused to allow the first time he had contact with Blaine to be when he was a bathroom.  
  
As he found yet another occupied room, he allowed himself a quick check of the time on his phone screen, deliberately ignoring the message preview which sat on his lock screen. He had another fifteen minutes before the warning bell.  
  
Suddenly, Finn came hurtling down the corridor, Puck hot on his tail, and Kurt reached out to grab him by the arm of his letterman jacket.  
  
“I need to borrow your car keys,” he said quickly. It had been Finn’s turn to drive them to school this morning.  
  
“Sure, dude,” Finn replied easily, a smile on his face. “Let me just grab them from my locker.”  
  
Kurt thanked him, and tried not to wait too impatiently as Finn continued to laugh and joke with Puck while they walked to his locker. It wasn’t Finn’s fault that he was unsympathetic to Kurt’s plight. Kurt hadn’t got around to telling him about Blaine this morning, too distracted by his own thoughts to be in a position to share them with other people. Finn wasn’t the most verbose person in the mornings, anyway; conversations were nigh on impossible even when they were only about breakfast choices, never mind attempting to talk about something as important as soulmates..  
  
“Here you go. You can give them back to me in Calc,” Finn said as he handed the keys over. “Make sure you do, or I won’t be able to get home.”  
  
Kurt stopped his hasty march to the parking lot, and turned to face Finn, incredulous. “Finn, you’re giving me a ride home, of course you’re going to get them back.”  
  
“Oh yeah!” Finn exclaimed. “Awesome.”  
  
Barely suppressing a roll of his eyes, Kurt hurried off, weaving between the other students once more – the hallways were getting busier now that the lunch period was nearly over. He escaped out of a side door, which he wasn’t really supposed to use, but all logic had flown from his mind the moment that his phone had buzzed.  
  
Being driven to school by the Championship-winning quarterback had its advantages – a parking spot close to the building, for one – so it didn’t take Kurt long to reach Finn’s car, thankfully.  
  
He slid into the passenger seat, unspeakably glad for central locking, which meant he didn’t have to attempt to get the car key into its lock with his shaking hands.  
  
The car was blissfully quiet, and Kurt took a moment to remind himself to breathe deeply. Passing out before he even read the message wouldn’t bode well for actually meeting Blaine face-to-face.  
  
Hand still shaking, he pulled his phone back out of his pocket, and swiped the message open.  
_  
“Hi, Kurt. This is Blaine (Anderson). I hope your dad told you he gave me your number otherwise this will probably be quite a shock. I just wanted to say hi, and I’d love to meet up with you this weekend, if you want to?”_  
  
He closed the message screen down for a second, trying to ensure he wasn’t fumbling so much that he accidentally sent gibberish back to Blaine. He pulled up his dad’s number, and set him a quick message to let him know that Blaine had been in touch – a test to check his fingers could be relied on.  
  
Message sent, he checked the time once again, knowing he was cutting it fine. He had to be in his Spanish class in just over five minutes.  
  
He deliberated for a few seconds – wondering if sending the perfect message was worth the trouble he would get into for skipping class. Burt was unlikely to let him take tomorrow afternoon off if he found out he was skipping though, and Friday prep time was more important to him.  
  
Fingers poised over his keyboard, he gave himself one more minute to think. He didn’t want to come across as an overeager idiot to Blaine, but he also didn’t want to make himself sound uninterested. Being stuck in class for the next fifty minutes would mean this message would be all Blaine had to go on for a little while; wording was important.  
_  
“Hi, Blaine. It’s great to hear from you! I have class until 3pm today, but if you’re free after that we could arrange this weekend? And maybe get to know each other a little?”_  
  
He jumped out of the car, locking it hastily and rushing back into the school building. The Spanish room was at the opposite side of the campus than the parking lot – of course – but he needed to go to his locker anyway.  
  
Once he’d grabbed his books, he allowed himself to check his phone one more time.  
_  
“That sounds great. I’m normally done by 2:30, so just text me when you’re free! Blaine x”_  
  
He pocketed his phone and skidded into the Spanish classroom just in time for attendance to be taken. It probably didn’t matter that he was there physically, his mind definitely wasn’t on conjugating verbs.  
  
By the time he was impatiently waiting by Finn’s car for him at the end of the day, he felt like he was going to explode from holding back from talking about Blaine. He’d decided not to tell any of his friends at school until he’d actually met him, because, really, there wasn’t very much to say yet. That fact didn’t stop him from wanting to shout the news from the school roof, though.  
  
The wind was biting his cheeks, ad Kurt tried to huddle into his coat to protect his face from it. Finn must have been held up at his meeting with the football team, and Kurt wished he’d thought to keep hold of his car keys. At least then he could be waiting somewhere comfortable and warm.  
  
His thoughts turned to Blaine, and he found himself wholly grateful for the shelter that he was staying in. It was strange, how the world righted itself. It was because of Kurt that his dad had run for office in the first place, and the shelter were now claiming it was thanks to Burt that they were able to take Blaine in. And, thanks to the shelter, Kurt had found Blaine.  
  
He’d never imagined that he’d find his soulmate this early in life. His sights had been set on New York, convinced that he’d find Blaine there. Maybe he’d have been working behind the scenes of a show Kurt was in. Maybe he’d have been at NYADA – Kurt’s dream school. They could have met on the first day, and ignored all of their orientation seminars while they concentrated on discovering each other, and not the new world around them.  
  
But no, Blaine was in a shitty situation, and Kurt was powerless to do anything about it.  
  
It was imperative they got Blaine out of the shelter, and soon. Winter was fast approaching, and the idea of Blaine being somewhere less than adequate was nauseating. Kurt couldn’t believe that his dad and Carole were so adamant that Blaine would be staying with them though; he’d thought he was going to have a fight on his hands.  
  
The thought of Blaine being so close to him, but under a roof with Kurt’s family at the same time was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. He and Blaine were meant to be together, but that didn’t change the fact that they knew nothing about each other yet. Navigating a new relationship under bizarre circumstances would be a challenge, but Kurt was willing to give it a try.  
  
To distract himself from winding too far down the lane of his imagined future, he decided it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to text Blaine to let him know he was held up.  
  
He looked around to check that there was no imminent threat of being slushied while he was distracted and, satisfied that the area was clear, he pulled his phone back out of his bag.  
_  
“Hi, Blaine. I’m done at school now, just waiting for my brother to finish up whatever he is doing so he can give me a ride home. Are you done with your schoolwork?”_  
  
Looking up, he saw Finn and Sam lumbering across the parking lot, and quickly sent the message. He swung his bag off his shoulder, ready to place it into the footwell when he climbed into the car, and put his phone away in the inside pocket of his jacket – so that he would feel it vibrate when Blaine replied.  
  
Finn grinned at him when he reached the car. “Sorry, bro. Coach Beiste wanted to talk about the travel arrangements for the game next week,” he said as he unlocked the doors. “You weren’t hanging around long, were you?”  
  
“Not long enough to get into mischief.”  
  
“Good. We’re going to give Sam a ride home, if that’s okay? You don’t need to be home quickly for anything, do you?”  
  
“No it’s fine. I’ll sit in the back.” Kurt smiled, feeling his phone go off as he opened the back door and slid onto the back seat. “Who are you guys playing next week? Do you think you’ll win?”  
  
Asking questions about the football team was a surefire way to keep Finn and Sam busy on the ride home, busy enough that Kurt could read Blaine’s message in peace. They could talk about football all day long, needing no input from him.  
  
Once they were engrossed in their conversation, Kurt opened up Blaine’s message.  
_  
“I still have some work to finish, but I can take a break. Algebra is making my eyes go funny anyway. Your dad didn’t mention that you had a brother, how old is he? Is it fun being at the same school as him? I have an older brother but he is a lot older than me, so we were never at school together.”_  
  
It was a glimpse into Blaine’s home life which Kurt hadn’t been expecting. He had been unsure how to tread around the topic of Blaine’s life before the shelter, but he was pleased to know that there were some things which Blaine was happy to discuss.  
  
He watched Sam and Finn talk – they had moved onto video games now – and tried to imagine his life without Finn as his brother, like it used to be. It almost seemed like a different life. Things were definitely better with him around.  
_  
“I feel the same way about Algebra. Whoever added letters to mathematical equations needs to be condemned to a life of polyester blends and flannel. Finn is my step-brother and he’s the same age as me. Our parents only got married last year, but it’s good having him around, most of the time. We are polar opposites in a lot of things, though, so occasionally we clash.”_  
  
His phone buzzed almost immediately, and Sam turned around to face him, a frown on his face. Kurt smiled back, deliberately not looking at the message until he turned back around in his seat.  
  
He switched it to silent, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself. The phone would be in his hand for the majority of the rest of the day, anyway, so it wasn’t like he’d miss anything.  
_  
“I’m pretty sure that counts as a cruel and unusual punishment, Kurt :)”_  
_  
“You’re probably right. It’s good to know you’re around to keep me honest!”_  
  
The car pulled up at the curb outside Sam’s house – the ride had felt like it had taken about half the time it normally did. Kurt placed his phone back into his bag and slid out of the car. Finn always grumbled that he felt like a cab driver when Kurt stayed in the back seat after whoever else had gotten out of the car, and keeping conflict to a minimum was high on Kurt’s list of priorities.  
  
Sam dashed into his house, yelling back at Finn to make sure he logged into his Xbox as soon as he got home. Finn shouted something unintelligible back, and they were on their way.  
  
“Can we order pizza tonight? Mom and Burt are out for a date night.”  
  
“I made lasagna last night,” Kurt told him. There may have been some stress-baking involved after he found out about Blaine. “If you chop up some sweet potato, I’ll make us some fries? I made a batch of cookies too, for after.”  
  
“Pizza is so much easier,” Finn whined.  
  
“Two potatoes, Finn; that’s all I ask. You can hook up the Xbox to the big TV, if you want? Then you won’t even have to pause your game to eat.”  
  
“Really? You don’t mind?”  
  
“I have a ton of reading to do,” Kurt said. “I’ll be in my room most of the evening; I don’t care if you use the TV to blow people up in high-def.”  
  
“It’s not just about blowing people up, dude. It’s all about strategy.”  
  
Finn continued his one-sided argument the rest of the way home, and Kurt pretended to be interested. Video games had never managed to draw him in, although, as a result of living with Finn, he had become pretty bad-ass at them. He was occasionally required to even up the teams when the guys were sleeping over, and he did take a certain pride in shocking them all with his skills.  
  
By the time they arrived at the house, Finn was clearly itching to get out of the car and set everything up.  
  
“Potatoes, Finn,” Kurt reminded him. “You can call the others on speakerphone while you’re doing it and let them know you’ll be online all evening.”  
  
“You’re so smart!” Finn laughed, throwing his bag down in the family room and heading for the kitchen.  
  
Kurt shook his head fondly, and raced to his bedroom as soon as he was sure Finn was distracted.  
  
He checked his phone, pleased to see another message waiting for him from Blaine.  
_  
“Okay, so I know you hate polyester blends, and that you have a step-brother, and a dad who is a Congressman (an awesome Congressman, too). What else should I know about Kurt Hummel? Or are we saving all that until the weekend?”_  
  
Kurt deliberated. There were definitely some things he wanted to keep for when he finally met Blaine – a lot of discussions about family should be off the table until they were face to face. But a little more information about Blaine wouldn’t go amiss.  
_  
“Hmmm, well, maybe we could learn a little more about each other. I’m in my school’s glee club. I own every edition of Vogue since I realized I could spend my pocket money on them. Oh, and I can take apart and rebuild a car.”_  
  
Again, the response was immediate.  
_  
“Favorite 2010 Vogue cover?”_  
  
He considered the question for all of ten seconds.  
_  
“Marion Cotillard”_  
_  
“Oh my god, stop it. We are definitely soulmates!”_  
  
Kurt laughed, the message sending a flood of warmth through him.  
  
At that moment, Finn yelled to let Kurt know that he’d finished with the potatoes, and would be using up ridiculous amounts of their bandwidth for the foreseeable future.  
_  
“Glad to hear that!”_ Kurt texted back to Blaine, placing his phone next to his laptop when it was sent.  
  
He unpacked his bag, trying to figure out what schoolwork definitely had to be done that night. Although, putting things off until the weekend probably wasn’t a good plan, either. His mind was going to be so full of Blaine on Sunday that any schoolwork he did would most likely be compromised as a result. He groaned, pulling up his American Lit work – something he could do with minimal input from his conscious brain, and set to work.  
  
Before long, another message arrived. Kurt made himself write three more sentences of his paper before reading it. It was the only way anything would ever get done.  
_  
“So, I was in the show choir at my old school, too. I love Vogue, although I have missed the last couple of editions. And I rebuilt a car a couple of summers ago.”_  
  
Wow, they really were compatible. Kurt had always held onto his faith in the soulmate system, but there was a tiny part of him – a part nourished by the Neanderthals at McKinley – which wondered if there really _was_ someone out there for him. He knew he was different than a lot of other people, and could be tough to deal with. Sometimes it felt like too much to hope for that there was someone out there who would complement him perfectly.  
  
But, so far, Blaine seemed to be everything he’d imagined in his wildest fantasies and more.  
  
Kurt wondered if it could possibly last.  
  
He shook his head. There was no use thinking like that, no use spiraling back down the dark path where he ended up old and alone in a world full of soulmates. He had Blaine, now.  
_  
“I can bring you the latest Vogues at the weekend if you want? I trust you to take care of them for me.”_  
  
It was an offer he was serious about; even though a small part of him was worried that Blaine would struggle to look after his precious magazines in a shelter. He didn’t even know Blaine, but he trusted that he would do his best.  
_  
“Really? That would be wonderful! I’ll keep them pristine, I promise.”_  
_  
“Of course. I consider it my life’s mission to spread the word of Anna Wintour to all who are willing to accept her as their personal savior.”_  
_  
“That seems like a mission which would save a lot of lives.”_  
_  
“It’s saved my poor eyes more than once”_  
_  
“:)”_  
  
And then  
_  
“So, what would you like to do at the weekend?”_  
  
Kurt paused, remembering Carole’s advice. Nothing too crazy.  
_  
“Is there much to do in Westerville? I really just want to get to know you a little better, so maybe we could get coffee and see how we feel after that? My dad is driving to his office so we could get a ride with him to Columbus if Westerville is… lacking.”_  
  
He grimaced, being stuck in a car with his dad wouldn’t be ideal, to say the least. But, it was more important that Blaine was comfortable. Westerville might not be somewhere he enjoyed being, or even felt safe. Kurt could suck up an awkward thirty minutes in the car with his dad if it mattered so badly to Blaine.  
_  
“There’s enough to do here, there’s a couple of movie theaters, too. Or there is a matinee of Rent at the community theater, if that’s something you’d like? A couple of kids from the shelter are working backstage, so we can get discounted tickets.”_  
  
Kurt’s heart clenched. A date to a musical, with the boy he was destined to spend his life with. Perfect.  
_  
“Rent sounds like it could be fun! How about we tentatively say we’ll go for coffee, and maybe a quick lunch, then the show, and then out for dinner? My dad gets given a ton of vouchers to restaurants, and he always feels bad when he can’t use them; I bet he has some for a few places in Westerville. We can go on his behalf.”_  
  
He chewed the inside of his cheek, hoping he hadn’t been too obvious in ensuring that Blaine didn’t have to spend out too much money. When Sam had been homeless, he’d been reluctant to accept any overt displays of charity, and Kurt understood why, even though all the help which had been offered was a product of their love for him, and not pity. He didn’t want Blaine to feel like he was a project, a fixer-upper, like some of the bargain clothes that Kurt found online.  
_  
“Okay, awesome! I’ll speak to the guys before they head out tonight.”_  
  
A loud shout from the family room reminded Kurt that he was shirking his responsibilities. If his dad and Carole got back from their date to find that he’d spent the whole evening messaging Blaine, and not doing his schoolwork, or eating, they wouldn’t be happy.  
  
Sighing, he replied to Blaine.  
__  
“Ugh, I have to go and make dinner, and I have an English paper I need to be working on. I don’t want you failing Algebra because of me, either. Can we pause this discussion for a couple of hours?”  
  
“Sure, I should really get all this homework out of the way, seeing as I have just booked up all of Saturday! Text me when you’re done!”  
  
Kurt sat back, smiling to himself at how easy this all felt. He’d hardly slept the night before – despite his exhaustion – worrying that he and Blaine would struggle to find anything to talk about. Hitting on so many things they had in common so early was a balm on his anxiety.  
  
He headed downstairs, mildly impressed to find that Finn had chopped the potatoes neatly. He seasoned them and placed them in the oven, pulling the lasagna out of the fridge and portioning it out, ready to heat up.  
  
After setting the oven timer, he went back upstairs, concentrating on getting his paper written as fast as possible, not wanting to waste a moment of his time with Blaine later. He didn’t want to fall behind in his grades, though, and so he made an effort to keep it up to something near his usual standard. Blaine moving in was no doubt dependant on him keeping his grades up, and he wasn’t about to jeopardize any chance he had of being near his soulmate full time.  
  
He’d got a good portion done by the time he needed to go and heat up the dinner, and so he sat in the family room with Finn while he ate, and watched his brother blow stuff up.  
  
Finn was chatting away on his headset, the other guys’ voices periodically booming though the television speakers. Kurt let the noise wash over him, enjoying the break from schoolwork and from worrying about Blaine. Sometimes, he wished he could be more like the other guys, although they were always fleeting wishes. It would be so easy, though, to just fit in, and not stand out; to have a soulmate who lived in a house, and not in a shelter he was forced into because he was destined to fall in love with you.  
  
When they’d both finished their meals, he took their plates into the kitchen, reminding Finn that he needed to wash them before Burt and Carole arrived home. He’d no doubt have to tell him again. When Finn was engrossed in something he cared about, be it video games or football, it was at the expense of everything around him.  
  
Kurt made himself finish his paper before he’d even consider texting Blaine again, going as far as leaving his cell phone on his bed – out of arm’s reach. He opened up his biology book – they had a quiz the next day, and checked the time. It had been two and a half hours since he’d last spoken to Blaine.  
  
He could revise and text at the same time, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/121359199375/the-heart-of-me-ch-3)


	4. Chapter 4

Burt fought against the urge to turn the sports news up on the car radio.

They were about an hour into their two hour drive to Westerville, and Kurt hadn’t stopped talking the entire time. At first, it had made Burt nostalgic for the days – so many years ago – when Kurt would be full of tales from his days at elementary school. He’d chatter at a hundred miles an hour over the dinner table, not allowing either of his parents to get a word in edgeways. They’d have elaborate renditions of his experiences, occasionally requiring him to jump up from the table and act out a scene from his day.

That had changed, though, as first they lost Elizabeth and, as the years passed, Kurt started to run into trouble with some of the jerks at school. Then, Burt had been lucky if he even got as much as a shrug in response to his questions about Kurt’s days.

Now, though, he was starting to wish that Kurt would take a damn breath. He’d heard all about his outfit plans, and each and every change he’d made – little details Burt couldn’t even imagine noticing, – and why he’d eventually decided on the outfit he was wearing.

Burt had nodded in what he thought were all of the right places (without actually commenting on the subject, because he could never quite make that leap into knowing what he was talking about), and hoped that Kurt would eventually run out of gas.

It hadn’t happened yet.

Burt drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, and cut in the next time Kurt was distracted by his cell phone.

“I’m going to the shelter before I go to the office,” he said, after Kurt had sent his message.

Kurt turned in his seat to fully face Burt. “To talk about getting Blaine out?”

“Yeah. I know we still need to discuss it with Blaine, but we need to try to figure out what time frame we’re looking at, and what we have to do, in case he does want to come and live with us.”

“That’s great,” Kurt said. “I’ll talk to Blaine about it today, and see what he wants to do.”

“Make sure he knows it’s his choice, okay, buddy? We’ll be here for him no matter what he decides.”

“I will. I hope he does want to, though.” Kurt wanted it desperately, and Burt didn’t blame him. Their circumstances were hardly ideal.

“I’m sure he will,” Burt reassured him, fighting the urge to reach over and squeeze Kurt’s shoulder – it’d probably ruin his entire outfit.

Kurt nodded, but out of the corner of his eye, Burt could see him chewing the inside of his cheek.

“Tell me a little more about him. Does he like sports?”

Kurt shot him a look, and Burt pressed his lips together innocently. “Sports haven’t come up in our conversations,” he said.

Burt waited for a couple of seconds, and sure enough, Kurt continued talking, passing on some of the information he had found out about Blaine from their conversations. Burt relaxed into his seat, and resigned himself to not hearing the pre-game comments from the Buckeye’s coach until later in the day.

 

* * *

 

Kurt stood on his tiptoes, trying to get a full view of his outfit in the, frankly terrible, mirror of the public bathroom in the Westerville mall. He was making sure his broach sat straight on his lapel, when a burly man shoved past him, and knocked him off balance.

He hated malls.

They’d agreed to meet at a coffee shop which Blaine had said was nice, and Kurt was determined to get there first. He’d teased Blaine’s order out of him, planning to have the drink waiting when Blaine arrived, along with a couple of cookies to share.

He glanced at his pocket watch – a vintage bargain, which was fully functional thanks to a repair company he’d found online – and hurried to their meeting place.

He prayed to any deity he could think of, when he was walking with a tray of drinks to find a free table, that he wouldn’t spill anything on himself. He’d ordered a couple of glasses of iced water, along with their coffees. For some reason, despite it being a cool day outside, he felt like he was overheating, and he was sure it’d only get worse when Blaine arrived.

Once he’d found a table, he sent a message to Blaine letting him know where he was sitting, and tried to arrange himself in such a way that he looked casual – not easy when it felt like his heart was going to beat though his chest.

Blaine replied to let Kurt know that he was nearly there, and Kurt had to start attempting to look casual all over again.

He could see the door out of the corner of his eye, and every time someone he walked in, he felt his heartbeat speed up in response. He willed himself not to start sweating. There were so many people coming in – it was clearly a popular place, and while he was grateful that Blaine had chosen somewhere that was liked, he was feeling more and more stressed with every person coming in who wasn’t Blaine

Suddenly, he could hear the blood whooshing in his ears, his heart pounding in response to something he couldn’t see yet. He watched the door, and waited, knowing innately that Blaine was close.

And in he came. He was wearing tight red pants, a braided white belt, a black shirt, and a bow tie which incorporated all the colors of his outfit, a black coat folded neatly over his arm. His hair was gelled down neatly, almost too neat for Kurt’s tastes, but it looked good on Blaine.

He was cute as hell.

He was perfect.

And vaguely familiar.

Kurt stood up, smiling at Blaine when he caught his eye.

Blaine smiled back, and the knot in Kurt’s chest loosened. He gestured Blaine over, standing to the side of the table so that he could see that the drinks were already bought.

As Blaine walked to the table, momentary panic flew through Kurt, as he realized he had no idea how to greet him. Blaine seemed to have no such issues though, pulling Kurt into a quick hug before he took his seat.

“Sorry,” he said, quickly glancing around at everyone else there. “I have been dying to do that since we started talking.”

Kurt wasn’t sure he was one for public displays of affection, but he found himself truthfully agreeing with Blaine. “Me too.”

“It’s really good to meet you, Kurt,” Blaine said as he neatly placed his coat on the seat next to him. “Thanks for buying the drinks; I’ll get our next ones. I didn’t keep you waiting long, did I?”

“Not at all,” Kurt smiled. “I was a little early, anyway.”

Blaine smiled back at him, letting out a long exhale. “I can’t quite believe this is happening.”

“Neither can I,” Kurt laughed. “I’m glad it is, though.”

“So am I.”

“I brought the Vogue editions with me,” Kurt said. “I left them in the car, though, to save us tailing round with them all day.”

“That’s great, thank you! I was sorry to miss out on them.”

Kurt sipped his coffee (decaf – he was jittery enough). “Well, now you have something to distract you from the trials of schoolwork”

“Yes!” Blaine smiled shyly, and Kurt’s heat beat a little faster in response to the adorable sight. “Although this week I’ve been distracted by something entirely other than fashion.”

“I wouldn’t say I am completely separate from fashion,” Kurt said teasingly. Blaine nodded in acknowledgement. “But I agree with the sentiment. It’s been good, getting to know you, though.”

“Yes, definitely! I’m pleased we could meet up so soon, too. I was going a little crazy being so far away from you, especially after we agreed not to exchange pictures.”

A small part of Kurt’s brain was trying to encourage him to bring up Blaine living with them, but he pushed it down. It had only been five minutes since Blaine had arrived. “I’m glad we did, though,” Kurt said. “It was nice to leave a little of the discovery for when we actually met.”

Kurt snapped off a bit of his cookie, and popped it into his mouth, eyes widening. Blaine watched him, a fond smile on his face.

“These cookies are good!” he exclaimed, when he’d finished his mouthful. "The coffee shop in Lima is terrible.”

“Yeah, I love them here, even if it means a little extra time working out,” Blaine agreed.

“I’ll have to work extra hard in glee practice, I guess.” The cookies were worth it.

“Do you do a lot of dancing in your show choir?” Blaine asked, breaking off a piece of his cookie. “I was going to see if there were any videos on YouTube of you guys, but I didn’t want to break our ‘no pictures’ rule.”

Kurt laughed. “Yeah, we do, although for some people it can hardly be described as dancing, my brother included.”

Blaine hummed and nodded while he finished his bite. “We didn’t do that much dancing with the Warblers really; lots of step-touches, and a few back flips from the more athletically-minded members of the group.”

“You were a Warbler?” Kurt asked, shocked. He took a sip of his drink in an attempt to stop himself from staring at Blaine with his mouth hanging open.

“Yeah, for most of last year, do you know them?”

“We occasionally watch the videos online from other groups, I remember seeing you guys! I wonder if I saw you and didn’t even know it!” He paused, squinting at Blaine, tying to imagine what he’d look like in the Dalton uniform. Blaine just smiled patiently at him, clearly waiting for something to click.

“Oh my God!” Kurt exclaimed. “You were the Teenage Dream kid! I loved you! I nearly transferred to Dalton because of that song!”

Blaine laughed, his head dipping down a little as he tried to brush the compliment off.

“Yep, that was me,” he admitted. “You really nearly moved schools?”

Kurt took another sip of his coffee. He didn’t really want to get into his issues at McKinley so early in their relationship; it was heavy stuff, even when he was sitting opposite a boy with no home. “I did. It didn’t work out, though. McKinley is fine, now.”

Blaine nodded sympathetically. “I had to switch to Dalton because of some problems at my old school, so I get you.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kurt said, his heart breaking a little. As if Blaine didn’t have enough to contend with – both family and friends rejecting him due to his sexuality? He needed a break.

“I can’t believe you’re the Teenage Dream kid. You’re so good!” He hesitated, considering his next words carefully. He didn’t want to come off sounding like a creeper. “I’m just telling you now that I probably watched that video with my friends about twenty times – because they’ll sure as hell tell you when they realize who you are.”

Blaine laughed, a hint of redness creeping into his cheeks. “That’s sweet. You’ll have to point me in the direction of some videos of you guys, so I can tell them I’ve seen clips of you singing just as many times. Then we’ll sound as crazy as each other.”

Kurt laughed, his heart filling with… love? No, not love… not yet, surely? Fondness – his heart was filling with fondness for Blaine, grateful all over again for the time they had stretching out in front of them, both the immediate future, and their lives ahead. They were fated to be old and grey together, and every word that Blaine said was convincing Kurt further that it was a destiny he was going to delight in.

 

* * *

 

Later, they found themselves at an Italian restaurant. It was a gamble, eating garlic so late in their date, but Blaine had made a joke about bringing breath mints with him, and Kurt had sheepishly held up the pack he’d brought, too, and – free of concerns – they’d happily settled on Cardone’s.

They chatted about Rent while they ate – it had been a decent production, and they’d enjoyed it. Kurt had especially enjoyed Blaine sneaking his hand into his in the darkness of the second act.

It was such a brave move, especially for a boy who had faced such hardship already. Yes, the world at large was changing, but it was hard to reconcile that with the experiences faced individually.

Kurt had squeezed his hand, and let his thumb stroke along Blaine’s skin, trying to act like he was still remotely interested in the show, and not simply focused on the new sensations.

And now, here they were, in a restaurant, trading opinions about a musical they’d just seen, and not even caring about what people around them thought. Kurt felt almost invincible, and while he knew rationally that it wasn’t true, he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it. It was a rare respite from his everyday life.

He wanted this every day.

While they were waiting for dessert – after a lot of deliberation on Kurt’s part about how to even broach the subject – the conversation turned to Blaine’s living arrangements.

“It’s not so bad,” Blaine shrugged. “Most of the other guys there are nice enough. I just keep my head down – and I help out at a music store near here some evenings and weekends, so I’m not even there that much.”

“That’s good,” Kurt nodded, pleased that Blaine was staying connected with music in some way. It was already obvious it was as important to him as it was to Kurt.

“Yeah, I love the store – I’ll have to bring you for a visit next time you come down here.”

“I’d love that!”

Blaine smiled. “Do you play any instruments?”

“Not well,” Kurt admitted, his mind casting back to fruitless hours sitting with his mother as she tried to teach him piano. “We have a piano in the house, though. I can play a mean _Chopsticks_ but that’s probably the height of my skill.”

Blaine swallowed his mouthful of drink quickly, a laugh clearly threatening. “We’ve all got to start somewhere,” he grinned. “I can help you, if you want? I love playing piano.”

“That’d be great. You’ll have to come up for a visit sometime soon, and you can appraise my lack of skill – my stepmom is dying to meet you, anyway.”

“That sounds perfect,” Blaine smiled.

Their dessert arrived, and Kurt took a few bites of his cheesecake – trying desperately not to moan out loud in appreciation. Westerville was offering him no end of delights.

“Speaking of my house,” he started, cringing immediately at how clunky his choice of words was, but it was too late to change anything. The words were out there.

Blaine looked up at Kurt, licking some stray gelato from the side of his mouth as he did. Kurt fought hard to concentrate on his words, and not on Blaine’s tongue.

“My dad said, if you want to, and if it all works out, you can come and stay with us.”

Blaine frowned, and Kurt felt his heart drop.

“Stay with you guys?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said. He started casting around for any reason Blaine wouldn’t be okay with the idea. “We have a spare bedroom, if that’s what’s worrying you,” he offered lamely.

“It’s not… I mean…” Blaine sighed, placing his spoon on its dish, and rubbing the back of his neck. He closed his eyes, and Kurt waited, biting his lip to stop himself from jumping in again. “I’m not a charity case, Kurt.”

Kurt’s heart sank. He knew he’d screw up the offer, and now Blaine probably thought that the whole day had been a pity date. “I know, and I swear, that’s not what this is about.”

“I get three meals a day,” Blaine said. “I’m living somewhere warm, and dry – and I’m getting an education. I have a job here, I can’t just leave.”

Kurt groaned – the conversation wasn’t going at all how he had planned. He took a breath, trying to organize his thoughts before he spoke again – a tip Carole had given him a couple of weeks ago after he’d had yet another blow-out argument with Mr. Schue.

“I’m not asking you to move right away, I promise. I’m not even asking you to move at all – even though I’d love it if you did. This will work no matter where we are, okay?”

He looked around the restaurant, checking that they weren’t overlooked by anyone, before moving his hand to his arm, and removing the vast array of bracelets he wore. Most people used a cuff of some description to cover their soulmate marks, but Kurt liked to mix it up occasionally.

“Look,” he said, angling his arm so that Blaine could see. “This is us, yeah?”

Blaine nodded, glancing at the other customers himself before quickly unbuckling the red cuff he wore. Kurt’s heart stuttered a little as he saw the beginning of his name.

He squeezed Blaine’s arm briefly before drawing back to cover the mark up again.

“If you want to stay in the hostel you can, I won’t bug you about it, but I want you to know that you have options. You can come to McKinley, join the glee club, and be there to step in when I inevitably try to strangle our director. Or, you can stay here, and text me when I’m feeling slightly murderous. It’s completely up to you.”

Blaine laughed, and Kurt felt his shoulders relax slightly. They were okay.

“Can I think about it? I have friends here, and a job. It’d be a big move.”

Taking a bite of his almost-forgotten cheesecake, Kurt nodded. “Of course, I’m not going to throw you in the trunk of the car and drag you back with me.” He frowned slightly. “I would like you to come and visit Lima, though. My dad often drives back from Columbus on Friday evenings, he could give you a ride, and then I could bring you back here on the Saturday. I mean,” he corrected, conscious that he was once again steamrollering Blaine with all his plans. “If you’d like that?”

“Sure,” Blaine smiled. “That sounds really good; I’d love to meet your family. I’d have to clear it with the hostel and the store, I guess, but I’m sure they’d be okay with it.”

“Great!”

Kurt’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and his heart sank as he read the message.

“My dad is leaving the office now. He’ll be here in a half hour or so. He said he can give you a ride back to the hostel, if you want?”

“If he doesn’t mind?”

Kurt laughed. “He hasn’t stopped talking about how great you are since you guys met – I’m sure he’ll be hoping you say yes.”

Blaine blushed, and ducked his head down, and Kurt could barely resist the urge to reach out and stroke his cheek. They weren’t that safe – even here.

“I’d like that, then, yes. You could come in and see where I’m staying? Maybe that will help put you mind at ease. Your dad would be welcome, too – he’s kind of a hero to the hostel.”

Kurt quickly sent a message to his dad, and then looked back up at Blaine. Honesty was key – he could tell Blaine would run a mile if he thought he was being manipulated, and Kurt didn’t blame him in the slightest. “I think he went there earlier, to speak to Helen, but he won’t pass up a cup of coffee if it’s on offer.”

Blaine frowned slightly. “Talk to Helen about me?”

“About our situation, yes, and what he’d need to do in order to get you out of there, if you wanted. He just wanted to be prepared. But also about the ideas you guys came in with.”

“Okay,” Blaine smiled. “Is your dad meeting us here, or do we need to get ready to go?”

“He’s going to come here. We’re using the offer given to him, so he wants to come in and say hi to the manager.”

“Will I get a chance to say goodbye to you at the hostel? I mean, away from him. Because…” Blaine tailed off, and Kurt looked at him, a frown on his face. He watched as Blaine drew in a deep breath, seeming to steel himself. “Because I’d really like to kiss you,” he breathed out in a rush, still mainly facing the table.

Kurt reached out, attempting to stop his hand from trembling as he did so, and placed his hand over Blaine’s, giving it a gentle squeeze and waiting until Blaine’s eyes met his before he spoke.

“Me too,” he said, earnestly.

Blaine smiled shyly back at him, flipping his hand so that their fingers were linked.

They remained that way until Burt bustled in.

“It’s good to see you again, Blaine.”

“You too, Mr. Hummel.”

“It’s Burt, not Mr. Hummel” he smiled. “Did you boys have a good meal?”

They both nodded, and made to stand up, ready to leave. Burt held out a hand to stop them. “I need to take a picture of you guys or Carole will kill me.”

Kurt shot an apologetic look at Blaine, before digging his cell phone out of his pocket and handing it to his dad. “Mine takes better quality pictures,” he shrugged.

Both boys smiled up at the camera, and – after a few false starts – Burt managed to get a semi-decent photo of the two of them.

He handed his car keys to Kurt before heading off to find their waiter. “You boys go and sort out whatever music you want on the radio. I just need to speak to the manager to thank him for a good experience for you guys.”

Kurt smiled gratefully, knowing that Burt intended to take care of the tip, too.

They connected up Kurt’s iPod for the journey to the shelter, an eclectic playlist which Kurt may or may not have put together just in case Blaine had been in the car with them at any point.

The two boys sat in the back seat together, singing along to the songs, and Kurt wondered just how much more perfect the day could get.

As they pulled up to the hostel, Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand.

“It’s nice, but it’s not much, okay?”

“As long as you’re happy and safe there, that’s what matters,” Kurt nodded. Truth be told, he was nervous, worried that Blaine would feel judged, but even more nervous of being alone with him, knowing that a kiss was in the cards. It was something Kurt desperately wanted, but the weight of the impeding moment was weighing heavily on him. He almost wanted it over and done with already.

He tried to breathe deeply, calm his nerves. Live in the moment. He almost laughed – a voice which sounded a lot like Rachel in his mind telling him to really feel everything, remember his emotions, because he never knew when it would be useful in the future.

“Did they show you around earlier?” Blaine asked Burt, as they all clambered out of the car, Kurt clutching his bag of Vogue magazines.

“I saw a little of it – the games room and the kitchen,” Burt replied – his voice not betraying any surprise that Blaine knew he’d visited. “I was in the office, mainly.”

“You can come and see where I sleep, if you want? And where I do my schoolwork. I know you guys are worried about me being here.”

“That’d be great, buddy, thanks. I did some date crunching when I was at work, so I’ll drop off a letter on the way back – let you kids say goodbye in peace.”

Blaine led them down some corridors. The building was clean and tidy, and Kurt found himself relaxing in response.

They came to a room, with a huge TV, and Blaine stuck his head inside the doorway.

“I’m just going to show these guys our bedroom, is that okay?”

A few other boys grunted in response, barely looking away from their movie.

“I share with three other boys,” Blaine explained.

“Are they nice?” Kurt asked. They hadn’t seemed liked they were very interested in Blaine, but then Finn was the same way when he had a TV screen to concentrate on.

“Yeah, they are, mostly,” Blaine smiled. “Sometimes there are arguments, but in general it’s manageable. I’m hardly here, really, so I miss a lot of the drama.”

They trooped up some stairs, and finally came to the door of Blaine’s bedroom.

Kurt held his breath.

It was… sparse. There was no real hint of personality in the room, which was understandable, but Kurt found himself disappointed that there were no extra clues to Blaine’s life.

“Wow, this place is tidy for four boys,” Burt laughed.

“Yeah, they’re really onto us about keeping everywhere clean,” Blaine said. He pointed to the lower bunk across the room. “That’s where I sleep. The bathroom is down the hall, and there’s a room where we do our schoolwork downstairs. I do a lot of mine at the library, though. There are better computers there.”

Burt smiled, his hand coming to clasp Blaine’s shoulder. “You’re okay here, then? We don’t need to smuggle you out tonight? Because I’ll do it – there’s a suitcase in the trunk that we could hide you in,” he laughed.

That was the second time in one day that throwing Blaine in the trunk of the car had been mentioned, Kurt hoped he didn't think it was a family of ax-murderers.

Blaine smiled back shyly at Burt. “No, I’m good here. I really appreciate the offer, though, and I really will think about coming to live with you guys.”

“Good, because we’d love to have you.” Burt sighed, taking one last glace around the room. “I’ll go and find the office, and leave you guys. I’ll see you back at the car in five minutes, okay, Kurt?”

Kurt nodded, watching as the door swung shut behind his father.

“I brought the magazines in for you,” he said lamely.

Blaine chuckled, taking them from him and pulling out a box from under his bed. “Thank you, I’ll keep them in here and give them back next time I see you.”

“I had a really good day today, Blaine,” Kurt said. His fingers teased at the bracelets on his wrists, and in a sudden decision, he removed some of them again, enough that Blaine’s name was revealed once more.

Blaine smiled, unbuckling his cuff and placing it on his bed, before standing up and taking Kurt’s hands in his. “Me too.”

Kurt stepped forward, his heart thumping so hard that he was sure Blaine would be able to feel it. He paid it no mind, though, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders in a move far bolder than he actually felt.

Blaine’s hands came to rest on his waist, and Kurt tried to take it all in. The gentle warmth, the way he could feel his fingers flexing slightly, the warmth of Blaine’s breath against his neck.

He felt like he should say something, like he should mark this occasion somehow, but his brain wouldn’t supply anything at all – Blaine’s body was taking over all of his faculties.

Blaine leaned forward slightly. A question. An offer.

Kurt answered, his lips pressing against Blaine’s, his fingers grasping gently at the hair underneath them. Blaine’s hand came up to rest on Kurt’s jaw, and Kurt found himself doing the same thing, suddenly needing a little extra input from his senses – extra confirmation that this was actually happening.

Blaine was warm and soft under his hand, and against his lips, and he pulled away before Kurt was ready for him to.

“Wow,” he breathed, his eyes wide, shining brightly as he looked at Kurt.

“Yeah,” Kurt smiled, trying desperately to resist the urge to touch his lips, which were still tingling.

Blaine reached out, his thumb rubbing against his name on Kurt’s arm. He surged forward once more, kissing Kurt while still holding his arm.

They’d be late back to the car, but neither boy could bring themselves to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/122013465790/the-heart-of-me-ch-4). (Sorry it's late, internet issues).


	5. Chapter 5

Winter closed in hard and fast – Kurt’s journeys to Westerville becoming frustratingly long as he navigated tricky driving conditions. Growing up with a mechanic in the family was useful, though, and Kurt was well versed in weathering storms – even if the snow blasting against his windshield, and forcing him to drive at a crawl did make him feel like he was going out of his mind.  
   
He continued to make the trips, though. Spending time with Blaine was too important to miss out on – it was worth his blood pressure being raised for a few hours each week.  
   
He’d head over to Westerville every weekend to spend a day there – whichever day Blaine managed to take off work. Blaine’s online school allowed him to do his work whenever he wanted, as long as he got the required time in each week – so he tried to take more shifts at the store during the weekdays, leaving his weekends as free as possible for Kurt.  
   
It had taken a gentle reminder from Carole, but Kurt began throwing a few of his school books into the car when he drove over, along with his laptop, so that they could spend some of their time in the library, working together. Neither boy wanted reports coming back from their schools that their grades had been dropping, fearful of what it could mean for their already-limited time together.  
   
The Westerville library was a nice place for them to study. They were able to chat a little while they worked, and attempt to help each other with whatever they were stuck on. Kurt had taken to bringing his biology homework – which Blaine could breeze through explaining to him – and Blaine would often bring his French, which Kurt was fairly confident in. He was slightly suspicious that Blaine knew more of the language that he was pretending to, but he let it slide.  
   
Kurt wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was grateful for their library dates – it gave them a chance to spend time together where everything didn’t feel weighted. It was time where they were just two kids sharing earbuds and getting on with their schoolwork, and not two men destined to spend the rest of their lives together. He was ready for it, but also definitely _not_ ready for it. Not yet.  
   
They’d spend a few hours doing their schoolwork and then, confident that they’d done enough to have earned a break, they’d head into Westerville, normally to their favorite coffee shop, and watch the world go by as they caught up. Kurt would relent when Blaine insisted on paying for their second round of drinks – the knowledge that Blaine did at least have a source of income putting his mind at ease slightly.  
   
Occasionally they’d head to the music store where Blaine worked. They were always greeted with a friendly smile and a wave from Jim, the owner, and Kurt found a weight he didn’t even know was there lifted from his shoulders. Blaine would play piano for him, encouraging Kurt to sit next to him as he did, Blaine’s showcases turning into tutorials, Kurt’s breath quickening as Blaine’s hands covered his, teaching him some simple melodies.  
   
One afternoon was spent hanging out at the shelter – they were having a movie day there, and Blaine had requested Moulin Rouge in one of the afternoon slots. They’d squeezed onto the end of one of the sofas in the TV room, next to a couple of girls who had greeted them warmly. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt’s waist, hidden by the arm of the sofa. A bowl of popcorn sat between them, sodas at their feet all but forgotten as they were drawn into the story they’d seen so many times before.  
   
Most people joined in with the singing, and Kurt and Blaine were no exception – Kurt took a moment to acknowledge how surreal the whole thing was. He was singing _Come What May_ with the _Teenage Dream_ kid. The _Teenage Dream_ kid was his soulmate.  
   
With the weather so bad, Kurt had to leave Westerville a little earlier each weekend, but they always ensured they had time to say goodbye in private. They only ever had limited time – the reality of communal living, especially when you shared a bedroom with others. Kurt was almost grateful for that, though. Being alone in a bedroom with Blaine felt like they were putting a toe into a more advanced stage of their relationship – a stage that neither of them was ready for.  
   
It was Christmas before Blaine managed to find enough time to come to visit Lima. He’d been busy with his schoolwork and helping out during the pre-holiday busy period at the store, and was understandably unwilling to turn down any paid work he was offered.  
   
However, his online classes finished the week before Christmas, and didn’t restart until a few days into the new year, and he’d managed to arrange to take a few days off from work over the holidays. Jim and his wife Maureen were clearly fond of Blaine – willing to work with him to ensure he spent at least some time with Kurt over the holidays. They were hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration for their friends, too, and had invited both boys, along with the rest of Kurt’s family, to attend.  
   
The day before Blaine arrived at the house, Kurt was pretty sure that Carole was going to make him camp out in the back yard in the snow.  
   
He’d been planning on going to bed early – Burt was driving up with Blaine as soon as the roads were clear enough in the morning, and Kurt wanted to be sure that he was well rested. He didn’t want circles under his eyes and a grumpy attitude when Blaine arrived.  
   
However, his schoolwork had taken longer than he’d planned (he may have lost a few hours of the time he’d allocated for it to texting with Blaine), and then he spent more than a few hours getting the guest bedroom perfect for Blaine’s arrival. He’d put a lot of effort into making it look casually welcoming – he knew that anything OTT would make Blaine feel uncomfortable. There were a few Vogue magazines left on the nightstand, a bag full of toiletries in the drawer – Kurt had researched the best shampoo for Blaine’s hair type, the best products for his complexion, and had ordered them online for him. It was a Christmas gift, of sorts. He knew that Blaine was saving all the money that he could, and so the little luxuries went by the wayside.  
   
Kurt loved his little luxuries.  
   
After some debate with himself, he’d left his iPod dock on the dresser, too. Blaine had kept hold of his own iPod during his move to the shelter, but he occasionally mentioned to Kurt that he missed filling a room with the music he loved, relegated to listening only via his earbuds. Kurt’s house often came with a soundtrack – whether it was Broadway classics, sports announcers, or the background noise of a video game; Blaine wouldn’t be out of place if he wanted to play his music until his eardrums bled.  
   
By the time Blaine’s room was ready, Kurt was way behind on his schedule for the day. He decided to skip working on his own bedroom until later in the day, opting instead to clean the kitchen. Except, while he was there, it struck him that he should probably make a few batches of his Christmas cookies to freeze, and maybe one or two pies, as well. He wasn’t sure how Blaine felt about baking, but he didn’t want them to be stuck in the kitchen the whole visit, especially if Blaine didn’t enjoy it.  
   
And so, when Carole eventually arrived home from her shift – having left explicit instructions with both Finn and Kurt before she left to start on getting the house ready in her absence – the kitchen was in a worse state than it was when she left that morning. To add insult to injury, Finn had become embroiled in some sort of epic video game battle when he was taking a ‘lunch break’, and had barely made a dent in any of the rooms he was supposed to be cleaning.  
   
 Needless to say, Carole was unimpressed with them both.  
   
She’d barely taken her scarf and gloves off when she unplugged the Xbox, ignoring Finn’s protests that he hadn’t had a chance to save the game. A garbage bag was thrust into his hand, and he was pushed into the dining room, the door slammed shut behind him, the order not to emerge until he was done ringing in his ears.  
   
Kurt stood in the kitchen, hands covered in flour as he worked the pasty for the pies, steadfastly ignoring the chaos around him. There were two sheets of cookies in the oven, and three more rolls of dough in the fridge.  
   
“Stress baking?” Carole asked, a teasing note to her voice – much calmer than when she was talking to Finn, like she was approaching a skittish kitten. She patted his back comfortingly. “I’m going to get changed, and then we’re going to clean all this mess up, okay? The point of today was to get the house ready, not cover it in flour.”  
   
“I’m just trying to get ahead on the holiday food,” Kurt growled. He kept his focus on his hands, moving away from Carole to scrub the dough remnants off them and into the trash can. “I didn’t realize being helpful was such a big deal.”  
   
Carole shook her head before heading up to her bedroom. Sometimes parenting was about picking your battles.  
   
The rest of the evening continued in a similar fashion. She’d move something in the cupboard which was somehow integral to Kurt’s peace of mind, or put away some utensil he still needed to use, and their voices got louder and louder until she snapped, and threw him out of the kitchen completely.  
   
“Go and take a bath,” she said, brandishing a wooden spoon in his direction as she backed him out of the doorway. “And don’t even think about coming back in here until you have a better attitude.”  
   
“I need to…” Kurt started, gesturing towards the oven fruitlessly.  
   
Carole stared at him, somehow managing to look menacing even when she barely came up to his shoulder. “I will look after the pies, Kurt. Now, go somewhere else before I kill you.”  
   
He marched out of the kitchen, thumping up the stairs, and straight into the bathroom. Angrily, he turned the shower on, stripping off his clothes, and stepping in before the water had a chance to warm up properly. He shivered, squeezing some shower gel into his palm and rubbing it onto his arms in an attempt to generate some heat by himself.  
   
It was a futile attempt, and he grimaced, trying to blink back the tears that were threatening. He was finding it nearly impossible to hold it all together. There was so much that needed doing before Blaine arrived, but baking was something Kurt knew, something he could easily control – that’s why he’d resorted to it. All he had to do was follow the method he’d used so often, and the food turned out perfect every time.  
   
He allowed himself a few pity tears before he scrubbed them away. He was being ridiculous, and he knew it, but sometimes his rational mind was usurped by his anxiety-nurtured illogical side.  
   
The shower was short – he planned on having another one later, before bed – so he spent some time sitting on his bed, trying to get on top of his emotions, and formulate a new schedule in his head for the rest of the day.  
   
First on his list was a new addition, apologizing to Carole.  
   
Once the air was cleared, and with Carole taking charge of proceedings, the house was close to ready in no time at all.  
   
Kurt spent a couple of hours working on his bedroom, and his closet. He kept it neat and tidy, anyway, but he tried to look over it with a stranger’s eye, trying to see it as Blaine would. He made sure his laundry hamper was empty, changing into his pajama’s earlier than usual, so that he could wash the clothes he had been wearing to clean the house, too. He needed to get them hidden in the depths of his closet, and hope that Blaine never saw them.  
   
He deliberated over the photograph which sat on his nightstand. It was one he’d taken at the shelter – Blaine pressing a kiss to his cheek as he snapped a picture of them together. Blaine had taken a similar photo in return, but Kurt knew he hadn’t made a physical copy of it. A small voice in his head was telling him that this was too much, that Blaine would feel like Kurt having a picture of him by his bed was somehow presumptuous. He wavered, staring at the photo as he tried to figure out how Blaine would view it.  
   
He shook his head.  
   
It could stay for tonight, at least.  
   
He grabbed his cell phone from his desk, knowing that Blaine would be done at work in the next few hours. It had become something of a habit, sending Blaine a message to read when he was reunited with his phone once the store was shut.  
   
_“Hi! Less than 12 hours! I’m so excited to see you again! Ten days is far too long to wait. How was work? Did you charm any more people into buying overly-large musical instruments for their kids? Xx”_  
   
Blaine had called him a few days earlier, having been sent home an hour early from work. He’d been playing piano  at the store when a father and daughter came in to buy a violin, but the child had been so enamored with Blaine and the music he was creating, that she’d persuaded her father she needed her own piano.  
   
Jim had been beyond delighted with the sale, and he’d let Blaine leave early – with the promise that he would still be paid as though he’d worked his full hours.  
   
He’d used the entire extra hour to talk to Kurt while he grabbed some food, and then walked to the library (“ _I’m getting paid for chatting to you, can you believe it?!”_ ) _._  
   
Down in the family room, Carole and Finn were on the couch watching a holiday movie together. Kurt took a detour into the kitchen to make them all some hot chocolate, and grabbed a plate of his cookies to share, too. He placed the tray on their table before squeezing onto the couch next to Carole. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, giving him a tight hug.  
   
Kurt settled back, resting his head on Carole’s shoulder, and lost himself in _It’s A Wonderful Life_.

 

* * *

 

   
He dragged Finn out of bed early the next morning. They’d been hit with another flurry of snow overnight, and they needed to clear the driveway before Burt got home. Carole was in the kitchen, making cinnamon rolls, and occasionally running outside with a new Thermos of hot chocolate to keep the boys warm.  
   
A couple of their elderly neighbors came out while they were working, promising them more sweet treats if they’d work on clearing the snow from outside their houses, too.  
   
Finn accepted the offer easily, and Kurt managed to keep a lid on his horror until they were alone in the street again.  
   
“What?” Finn asked, brow furrowed under his hat.  
   
“Blaine is arriving today, Finn.”  
   
Finn didn’t pause in his efforts to clear a particularly stubborn patch. “We have a spare shovel,” he shrugged.  
   
With that, he turned, hitting the snow at a different angle and ignoring Kurt as he watched him slack-jawed.  
   
Trust Finn to completely ruin his plans for the day. Kurt fought the urge to throw his shovel to the ground and go back inside – that wouldn’t go over well with Carole, and he needed to keep the peace. There was only a small patch of snow left in his section to move, and he concentrated all his frustrations into clearing it, while mentally scrolling through his closet for anything which he could lend to Blaine for the work he’d been signed up for. He could always leave Blaine indoors with his dad and Carole but, from what he knew of Blaine already, he didn’t think he’d be happy to let Kurt and Finn do the work while he relaxed in the warmth.  
   
His patch done, he headed back inside to warm up. The original plan was to shower and change while he waited for Blaine, but there was no point in doing that, now. He took a cinnamon roll – still hot from the oven – and ate it slowly while he drank his coffee. Carole sat opposite him, chatting a little about potential meals for lunch.    
   
His cell phone buzzed, dancing across the table harshly, and Kurt grabbed it. It was Blaine, letting him know that they were about half an hour away, and Kurt felt his heart speed up in response to the news.  
   
He decided to take a quick shower after all – he didn’t want to be smelling bad when Blaine arrived, and he needed to do something before he tore his breakfast into tiny, messy pieces and brought down Carole’s wrath upon himself once more.  
   
After he’d showered, he had a little time to spare _(“Your dad says we’re fifteen minutes away!”)_ and he grabbed some clothes for Blaine from the back of his closet – he had some which he used for dance practices in glee club from last year which a ran a little small for him now, but would still be flexible enough on Blaine for him to be able to work in.  
   
He dressed in the outfit he had picked out carefully for the occasion – he’d worked hard on choosing it, and while it wasn’t a first meeting, he was still out to impress Blaine. He could change back into his work clothes later.  
   
As he arrived downstairs, he saw that Finn was in the kitchen, seeming to have already eaten about half of the rolls which his mother had made, and making a good dent in the second half.  
   
Carole was back at the oven, working on a few fruitcakes: one for her sister, three for the house (they were always getting visitors – most of them hungry teenagers), and one for Blaine to take back to the shelter with him. Kurt joined her at the worktop, taking some of the bowls she’d finished using and putting them away in the dishwasher.  
   
She smiled gratefully at him, but the look was short-lived, the sound of a car approaching breaking into their consciousness.  
   
Kurt quickly washed his hands, and headed outside to greet Blaine. Carole and Finn trailed after him, Carole snatching the cinnamon roll out of Finn’s hand as they went, and placing it back on his plate, admonishing him quietly for being so willing to drop crumbs all over their clean floors.  
   
The car pulled onto the driveway, and Kurt was at the passenger-side door before the engine was off. Blaine slipped out quickly, straight into Kurt’s waiting arms.  
   
They hugged for a long moment, but Kurt could feel Blaine jittery underneath his hands, so he let him go, whispering a little encouragement into his ear as they broke apart.  
   
He bought Blaine round to the rest of his family. Burt and Carole were greeting each other, still, so Kurt turned to Finn.  
   
“This is Finn, my brother. Finn, this is Blaine.”  
   
“Hi, man!” Finn said, immediately pulling Blaine into a tight hug. The top of Blaine’s head barely even reached the underside of his chin. “Welcome to the family, bro.”  
   
“Thanks,” Blaine mumbled into his chest, patting Finn’s back awkwardly.  
   
“Finn,” Carole admonished, smacking his arm gently. “Let the boy breathe.”  
   
She smiled warmly at Blaine when Finn had released him, holding her arms wide for him. “Come here, sweetie.”  
   
He stepped close to her, allowing her to wrap him in a hug as tight as Finn’s had been. He seemed a little more comfortable, sending Kurt a small smile over Carole’s shoulder as Burt hugged his son and Finn.  
   
Carole pulled back, holding the top of Blaine’s arms as she looked over him appraisingly. “I hope you’re eating well with all these hours you’ve been working,” she said. “You look a little on the thin side. Come on in, we’re still eating breakfast.”  
   
She guided him into the house, Kurt and Burt trailing behind, as she called back for Finn to grab Blaine’s luggage.  
   
They sat at the kitchen table, Kurt next to Blaine, catching his eyes and shaking his head at the chaos around them. Carole was heating up some cinnamon rolls, while Burt was making coffee for everyone. Finn dumped Blaine’s bags at the bottom of the stairs, and grabbed a couple of jugs from the cupboard, pouring out some juices into them.  
   
“We’re not normally The Waltons, I promise,” Kurt stage-whispered. “They’re just trying to impress you.”  
   
Blaine smiled back, but it was small. “I don’t want you guys going to any trouble,” he said. “You’ve already invited me to stay, that’s more than enough.”  
   
“Don’t worry, dude, you’ll be working for it,” Finn said, pushing a couple of glasses in front of them.  
   
“Finn has kindly signed us up for shoveling our neighbors’ driveways this morning,” Kurt explained. He shot his step-brother a withering look before turning back to Blaine.  “You don’t have to help out if you’re tired; I know you had an early start, but you could come and keep us company while we work?”  
   
“You don’t have to go out there at all if you don’t want to,” Carole cut in as she put some food in front of them. “I’ll always accept help in the kitchen. Or you can just nap – your room is all set up. I’m sure that’s what Burt will be doing.”  
   
Burt nodded, grabbing some glasses and placing them on the table.  
   
“I’m not sure I have the clothes for shoveling snow,” Blaine admitted, tearing a piece off his roll. “But I’d be happy to help out in here, I’m an okay cook.”  
   
Kurt smiled at him. He paused before he spoke, not sure if Blaine was just using an excuse because he didn’t want to work out in the cold. “I can see if there’s anything in my closet you could borrow. We can go and look when we’ve finished this mountain of food.”  
   
“Thanks,” Blaine said, smiling. He got up from the table and helped Burt carry over the mugs of coffee.  
   
When they were all seated, the family chatted about their plans for the next few days. It was information they were already all aware of, and Kurt knew that the conversation was mainly for Blaine’s benefit (although Finn could always stand to be reminded of where he was supposed to be and when).  
   
Blaine sat quietly, contentedly watching the conversation flow around him as he ate his breakfast.  
   
When they were done eating, Carole shooed them away from washing up their dishes, and they headed upstairs – alone for the first time, finally.  
   
Kurt directed Blaine to the guest room, following behind with his bags.  
   
“It’s pretty bare,” he shrugged as he put the bags down by the door. “But you can borrow anything you want from my room. The TV has a DVD player, and you’re welcome to go through the collection downstairs.”  
   
Blaine turned to face him, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around Kurt. “Thank you so much for inviting me here. I love your family already.”  
   
Kurt laughed, returning the hug gratefully. “Spend a few more days with us and see if you still feel the same,” he teased.  
   
Blaine kissed him softly. “So, you said something about shoveling snow?”  
 

 

* * *

 

   
The three boys spent most of the morning helping their neighbors out. Every driveway they cleared was rewarded with cookies, or cake, and hot drinks, which was very welcome, but it dragged out the task for longer than Kurt would have liked. The snowball fight Finn started didn’t help, either.  
   
While they were working, Finn and Blaine discovered a mutual love of sports, and of video games, Blaine promising to join in when some of the New Directions guys came over for a game night the following evening.   
   
When they only had two more driveways left to clear, Carole called Blaine back inside, claiming that she needed help making lunch for everyone. Kurt could tell that Blaine was tired, though, and was fairly certain that Carole had noticed it, too. A rush of gratitude flowed through him – his plan to match-make his dad and Carole may have been for all the wrong reasons, but he was unspeakably grateful for the new additions to his family.  
   
He and Finn worked though the last of the shoveling as quickly as they were able – Kurt could barely feel his fingers or his toes by the time they were done, and was desperate to get back inside to Blaine and warmth.  
   
As he reentered the house, shedding his gloves and trying to rub some feeling back into his hands, he was greeted by a delicious smell.  He hung his coat up in the coat closet, holding his hand out for Finn’s, too, despite his hurry to see Blaine again – otherwise it’d be unceremoniously dumped into onto the floor.  
   
“Hi guys,” Carole shouted from the kitchen. “There’s coffee in the pot if you need a hot drink. We’re making baked subs for lunch; they were Blaine’s idea.”  
   
Kurt rounded the corner to see Blaine standing at the counter next to Carole, layering up some sandwiches. The radio was playing, and Kurt could hear Blaine singing along softly, Carole swinging her hips in time. Blaine had changed back into his own clothes, a pair of dark skinny jeans, and a soft-looking red sweater.  
   
He stepped into the kitchen, smiling as Blaine turned to greet him.  
   
“She’s not working you too hard, is she?”  
   
Blaine grinned easily back at him. “No, I’m good. Did you guys get all the snow cleared?” he asked, as Carole slapped Finn’s hand away from the food.  
   
“Yeah we did. I’m going to go change, if you’re okay down here?” Kurt glanced to check that Carole and Finn were distracted, and pecked Blaine on the cheek quickly.  
   
He nodded, cheeks flushing slightly. “Sure. The sandwiches should be done by the time you’re ready.”  
   
“Wake Burt up, while you’re up there,” Carole requested. “He wanted to eat lunch with us.”  
   
Blaine knocked on Kurt’s bedroom door just as Kurt was pulling on a sweater.  
   
“Hi,” he said, gesturing to the bundle in his arms. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do with the clothes I borrowed?”  
   
“Oh, thank you. Just throw them into my hamper, there,” Kurt said. “If there’s anything you need washing while you’re here, just let me know. We do laundry every day, so it’s no hassle to throw some extra things in.”  
   
“That would be great, thank you. I probably under-packed, but I didn’t want to show up with hundreds of bags,” he laughed as he put the clothes away. “I should probably buy a suitcase, but I haven’t gotten round to it, yet.”  
   
“We’ve probably got one you can have,” Kurt said, running through a metal checklist of the various pieces of luggage they had in the house. “I over-pack for vacations.”  
   
Blaine was quiet for a second, his attention caught by the photo on Kurt’s nightstand. Suddenly, he turned back to face Kurt, a wide grin on his face. “Hey, you put that picture up! I love it! I’d make a copy of mine, but my nightstand is shared, and I don’t think Jackson would appreciate it, handsome as you are.”  
   
Kurt could feel the blush rising in his cheeks, he’d forgotten about the picture – he wasn’t expecting Blaine to be in his room already. He was glad, though; glad it wasn’t the huge deal-breaking moment he’d been building it up to be in his mind. Blaine was happy, and everything was okay.  
   
Blaine smiled gently at him. “I noticed the toiletries you put in my room, by the way. Thank you. My shower was heavenly.”  
   
“You’re welcome; consider it an early Christmas present.” He’d forgotten to mention them to Blaine, and was pleased that he’d realized they were for him. Blaine seemed to be the sort of guy who’d assume that they were left there by mistake, rather than dare hope or believe they’d been left for him, and Kurt hoped it meant he was already feeling comfortable in the house. “Was Carole kind to you while you were being put to work?”  
   
“She was. She kept hugging me,” he laughed, shrugging slightly, embarrassed. “It was nice, I like her.”  
   
“Good. I can’t blame her for that, you’re very huggable.”  
   
Kurt stepped forward and encouraged Blaine into his arms, still somewhat astounded that he was here, with him, and would be for the next few days. He pulled back and pressed a gentle kiss to Blaine’s lips, hands flexing in Blaine’s sweater as he tried to hold himself back – knowing that they’d have to go back downstairs within minutes.  
   
“Thank you for being here,” he whispered, lips tracing up Blaine’s cheek to his ear. “This is the best Christmas gift I could have hoped for.”  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/122539297325/the-heart-of-me-ch-5)


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching the whirlwind of activity around him.

Planning food for a video game night was always a challenge. The guys normally wanted pizza, but greasy fingers normally proved a challenge when it came to holding the controllers. There were so many people coming over, though, that they’d decided to serve pizza, but keep it in the kitchen and dining room in an attempt to preserve the game equipment. Finn was in charge of heating the frozen pizzas up – there were fries to cook when everyone arrived, too.

Carole was slicing up some of the fruit cake that she’d made the day before, a huge pan of brownies cooling on the side next to her. Kurt was in the middle of preparing some dips – bags of vegetables waiting to be chopped to go with them.

The radio was on, and all three of them were singing along to the Christmas songs playing out from it.

Blaine had been upstairs, doing some of his schoolwork on Kurt’s laptop – but he’d grown uneasy at the thought of everyone downstairs working without him, and decided to help out. Once he was in the kitchen, though, he was unsure where he’d fit in.

He padded over to Kurt quietly, smiling at him as he sang along with Mariah Carey. Blaine waited for the end of the song before he asked if he could help out.

“Are you sure? I know you have a ton of work to do,” Kurt said, as he squeezed the juice from a lemon. The collection of dips in front of him was impressive – it was all Blaine could do to keep from trying them out immediately.

Instead, he turned his attention back to Kurt. “Yeah, I got a good amount done. I might go back to it later if I’m feeling inspired.” An out, in case things became too much for him later on. He was used to dealing with crowds of teenagers around him, having attended Dalton, and then living in the shelter, but it was the first time he was being judged on his relationship to someone else. Kurt’s friends wouldn’t just be appraising his personality for friendship, they’d be checking that he measured up to Kurt, and from what he knew of Kurt already, he wasn’t sure that he did.

He kept waiting for the name on his arm to spell out a different surname than the one he was expecting.

Kurt washed his hands before turning to face Blaine. “Do you want to fill up some bowls with chips and other snacks? There’s plastic wrap in the cupboard to cover them when you’re done. The snacks are all on the table over there, and the bowls are in this cupboard here.”

They bent down to retrieve the bowls together, and Kurt rubbed Blaine’s knee. “Are you okay?”he asked quietly, under the noise of the radio.

Blaine nodded, the simple contact doing more for him than he would have believed possible. “Yeah. I could do with some time with just you, though.”

“Okay. I’ll have to get changed when I’m done with the vegetables, and you can be upstairs working while I do. We’ll get a little time to ourselves.” He grimaced a little as he stood up, carrying a few bowls over to the table. “My dad said we’ve got to keep the bedroom doors open if we’re in there together, though,” he whispered.

The night before, they’d spent a couple of hours in Kurt’s bedroom together. They weren’t doing anything they shouldn’t, just enjoying having the time and freedom to spend with each other... and maybe a little making out, too. The door was open, but only slightly, and Burt had looked disgruntled when he’d stuck his head in to let them know it was time they went to sleep. In their separate rooms.

“That’s fine,” Blaine said, feeling his cheeks heating a little at the memory. “I’ll help you with the vegetables when I’m done here, if you want?”

“Excellent!”

Blaine worked quickly, placing the bowls of snacks on their empty packaging when he was done – he’d been burned enough times picking up chips he thought were one flavor and turned out to be another.

He joined Kurt at the counter, pulling the bag of carrots towards himself.

“Should I do these?”

“Yeah, thank you. I’m aiming for three-inch long batons,” Kurt replied, passing Blaine a knife.

“Kurt,” Carole cut in, spinning around from the brownies she was cutting up to face the boys. “You’re preparing food for teenagers, no one is going to be measuring the length of the vegetables. Stop scaring Blaine into think he’s being judged on his knife skills. Blaine, dear, chop them however you want. Ignore Gordon Ramsey over here.”

Blaine smiled gratefully at her, before grinning at Kurt – who was looking horrified – and turning his attention to getting the carrots as near to three inches as he could.

Later, he found himself sitting on Kurt’s bed, talking through the closet door. Kurt was getting dressed, occasionally sticking a hand out to show Blaine another item of clothing to ask for his opinion.

“So who is coming tonight?” Blaine asked, looking at some of the pictures Kurt had on his wall. There were only a few photos – mainly from show choir competitions.

“Most of New Directions, I think. It was meant to just be a game night for the guys, but it’s evolved into a pre-Christmas party, I guess. That’s why all the food prep is happening so late; Finn only told us about five hours ago. Rachel is a vegan, too, so it’s always a bit more difficult to cater for her.”

Blaine squinted at the pictures – Finn had his arm around the same girl in a lot of them, the girl who’d sung lead on most of the New Directions videos Blaine had looked up. “She’s dating Finn, right?”

“Yeah, although there’s a ton of drama around the whole thing, which is exactly how Rachel likes things.”

“Are they soulmates?”

“I don’t know,” Kurt said, emerging from the closet, finally. “Neither of them will talk about it – which leads me to think that they aren’t. We’ll see, I guess.”

Blaine lost his words for a second. Kurt was dressed in pants so tight they may have been painted on, and a shirt and waistcoat combination which was making Blaine’s brain short circuit. He stared for a moment, speechless.

“Are you okay?”

He blinked, trying to stop himself from staring any further. “Yeah, I’m just trying to decide what to wear tonight.”

“You’re welcome to borrow anything of mine,” Kurt said, twisting himself around in front of his full length mirror. “I’m not sure what will fit you, but I’m sure we can find something.”

“Thanks,” Blaine replied. He watched Kurt inspect himself for a moment. “I did bring some clothes which could work, but maybe you could help me out with choosing something?”

“Of course.”

Kurt glanced at the open door before heading towards Blaine, grabbing his hands and pulling him up from the bed.

“Are you okay? You seemed a bit lost earlier.”

Blaine nodded, squeezing Kurt’s hands as they rested between them. “I’m good. It’s just… it’s a lot, sometimes. In a good way, but it’s a little overwhelming.”

“I get it. Being stuck here when we’re all home can be difficult at times, even for us - we're still getting used to it ourselves. The guest bedroom has a lock on it, so you can always come up if you need a break. My room has a lock, too.”

“Thanks,” Blaine said, hugging Kurt, his fingers clutching and releasing Kurt’s back – trying not to wrinkle anything. “I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”

“The way my phone has been blowing up, I think everyone feels the same way about you.”

Relief and nerves poured through Blaine anew, and he laughed quietly. “Anything I need to watch out for? Anything I shouldn’t ask?”

Kurt hummed, pulling Blaine over to the photos on his wall. “Mainly, steer clear of relationship questions – everyone has dated everyone at some point, and there is a lot of bad blood under the surface. Oh, and don’t ask Rachel about her career ambitions – although I’m sure she’ll corner you to discuss life as the lead singer in a show choir, anyway.”

He pointed to a couple of people in one of the pictures. “That’s Quinn and Puck, they’re not dating right now, but they had a baby together a while back, while she was dating Finn.”

“She had the baby at Regionals, right? I remember hearing about it.”

“Yeah. Rachel’s birth mom adopted her – she was the coach of Vocal Adrenaline. She worked at McKinley for a while, but she’s left again now.”

Blaine frowned, trying to follow the thread of the conversation, and Kurt rubbed his arm in sympathy, turning him away from the photos.

“Don’t worry too much,” he said. “It’s complicated, but it’s just background info for you, no one is going to be quizzing you.”

“Good, because I’m pretty sure I’d fail,” Blaine laughed, shaking his head. “Should we go and find me some clothes?”

 

* * *

 

Three hours later, Blaine was sitting on the couch, pressed up against the armrest, Rachel Berry on his other side talking his ear off.

She was accompanied by a cacophony of noise from the game the guys were playing, along with music from the dining room – some people, Blaine wasn’t sure who, singing along to it.

“You see, my flow was interrupted. I have a very specific routine, and if it’s disturbed, things go wrong. But Mr. Schuester doesn’t understand that, I mean, of course he doesn’t – he’s never been formally trained, and he refuses to listen when I explain these things to him. Anyway, the whole thing was a disaster.”

Blaine nodded, in what he hoped was a sympathetic manner, trying not to make it too obvious that he was looking around for Kurt. He’d been called away to help sort some of the food out, and Rachel had seen her opportunity and taken it.

“Kurt tells me that you were the lead of the Warblers?”

“I wasn’t exactly the lead…” Blaine corrected, but Rachel wasn’t listening.

“It’s so nice to find someone who understands the stress placed upon us. Show choir lives and dies based on how we perform – and yet we don’t get any allowances from the other members. All I needed was some lemon water, and yet everyone was too busy to fetch it for me.”

Blaine kept quiet. He’d only been stuck with her for about ten minutes, but he was learning rapidly that he wasn’t required to have any input into the conversation.

“Blaine!” Carole called from the doorway. “Could you come and give us some help?”

He smiled gratefully at her, thanking Rachel for the talk, and standing up quickly.

“You looked like you needed rescuing,” Carole laughed, putting her arm around him as they walked into the kitchen.

“She’s pretty full on,” Blaine said, trying to be polite. She was Finn’s girlfriend, after all.

“Rachel?” Kurt asked, looking up from the plate he was carefully arranging.

“She’d commandeered Blaine,” Carole explained. She opened up the oven and brought two trays of baked chicken wings out. “Come and help me put these out, Blaine.”

Blaine hurried over to Carole as Kurt apologized to him.

“I warned her to go easy on you,” he said. “But she doesn’t often listen.”

“It’s fine, she was being nice to me. She was telling me about how terrible your show choir director is,” he laughed. Carole handed him a bowl to put the wings in, a fond smile on her face.

“Well,” Kurt said, a smile teasing at his lips. “She’s not entirely wrong about that.”

“Kurt,” Carole warned.

“I mean, Mr. Schuester is a gift to the show choir world, and I should stop being so critical of him when he works so hard,” he corrected sardonically, flashing a smile at Blaine.

Blaine smiled back, dropping the wings into the bowl as quickly as he could – they were still too hot to handle for long – while Carole prepared the dips. Kurt hummed along with Lady Gaga, which was playing from the iPod dock in the dining room.

“We’re running out of drinks in there,” Burt announced, coming into the kitchen and heading for the fridge. He pulled out a few more bottles of soda, balancing them precariously in his arms. “I’ll be back for some more ice in a minute. Blaine, could you just nudge the door shut? I’ve got no hands free.”

Blaine quickly closed the fridge, and opened up the freezer to get a new bag of ice out. He placed it on the counter, and went back to his original job. Carole put her arm around his shoulders, squeezing him to her side.

“You’re a good boy,” she whispered.

He blushed, feeling the blood heat his cheeks as he focused on his task.

Compliments were something Blaine was somewhat uneasy accepting. He never heard them much at home, and the hostel didn’t have that personal touch. Dalton had been good, but it was all about the success of the team – the Warblers were a group, which was great, but it meant praise was lavished on everyone, not just him. He’d never really learned how to suppress the urge to deflect positive attention away from himself and onto other people.

Soon, the food was ready, and Blaine and Kurt headed back out into the main party.

“Blaine! Dude! Come and take over for me,” Finn called.

Blaine looked at Kurt, who nodded encouragingly at him. “I’ll be with Mercedes and Tina in the dining room. Come find me when you’ve finished blowing up aliens.”

“We’re on teams,” Finn explained, as he paused the game and stood up. “Me and Puck versus Mike and Artie.”

The other boys were looking at him curiously, and Blaine tried not to fidget under their scrutiny. Finn was clearly their leader, though, and his easy-going rapport with Blaine seemed to make them willing to give him a try.

He sat down on the floor, next to Puck, and gripped the controller tightly.

“I’ll help you out,” someone said, sitting down next to him. “Have you played this game before?”

“I don’t think so,” Blaine said, frowning at the pause screen. “I don’t recognize it. I’ve played Xbox before, though.”

“Thanks, Sam,” Finn called, dashing out of the room and up the stairs.

Sam explained the point of the game quickly, along with what each of the action buttons did, while the other guys wet to grab some food. Blaine listened carefully, not wanting to be responsible for his team’s loss.

“You got all that?” Sam asked when they trooped back in, plates piled high. So much for keeping the food away from the gaming equipment.

Blaine nodded.

“Let’s kick some ass, yeah!” Puck shouted, throwing himself down on the floor next to Blaine. Blaine pressed his lips together as the game restarted, trying to follow Puck’s lead, and not get too lost in the smaller details.

As they played, Sam quietly coached Blaine in what to do; he was obviously used to playing with the guys, and was giving Blaine hints about the way that Mike and Artie might play – nothing which Finn wouldn’t have already known, but the gesture meant a lot to Blaine. Before long, he was easily holding his own in the game, Finn relegated to watching from the sofa as Puck demanded that Blaine stay playing.

At some point, Kurt came in, perching on the arm of the sofa and talking with Quinn, who was watching the antics with a fond smile.

Blaine tapped out when they reached another level, Puck groaning at the loss while Mike and Artie cheered. Finn took over from him, and Blaine stood next to Kurt, watching the action for another few minutes.

“This is Quinn,” Kurt said. “Quinn, this is Blaine.”

“Hi, Blaine. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She smiled warmly at him, resting her plate on the floor for a minute and hugging him. “I see you’ve already managed to school Finn at activities which require coordination. You’re practically one of us already.”

Kurt laughed, nodding at a joke Blaine wasn’t quite sure he was a part of.

“I’m having fun,” he agreed, smiling even though her comment didn’t make much sense to him. “I’m hungry, though, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to grab some food. I’ll be back soon.”

“Tina and Mercedes are in the other room, along with Rachel,” Kurt said. “I think Rachel wants to turn this into a karaoke party, just to warn you.”

“I’m not sure I expected anything less,” Blaine laughed.

Burt was in the kitchen, pouring himself a beer, when Blaine headed in to grab a couple more bottles of soda to take through with him. He startled when he saw Blaine, holding one of his hands up in surrender. “It’s a light beer,” he said. “For when Kurt inevitably checks up that I’m not eating bad things.”

“You weren’t joking about that, huh?”

“Oh no,” he laughed, pointing to his plate full of vegetables which sat on the counter, a solitary chicken wing and a thin slice of vegetable pizza the only outliers. “Kurt is fastidious about eating healthy food as much as possible.”

Blaine nodded, and made a mental note to steer away from junk food when he could.

The pizza was calling his name, though, and he figured that it was acceptable at a party.

“You having fun?" Burt asked. "Kurt and Finn’s friends behaving appropriately?”

“I am, and they are, thank you. They all seem nice.”

Burt laughed – another joke to which Blaine wasn’t sure of the punch line, although he could imagine.

“Glad they’re treating you right, kid. You know you can come to us if you need anything, okay? I know this must all be a lot to deal with.”

Blaine nodded. “I do, thank you.”

A quick ruffle of his hair, and Burt was gone – off to watch the gaming, which was producing shouts of ever-increasing volume.

Blaine headed into the dining room, steeling himself briefly to voluntarily enter a room with Rachel Berry once more.

Suddenly, Kurt appeared at his side, resting his hand on Blaine’s lower back briefly as he leant in to kiss his cheek.

“Hi guys,” he said, as they walked in. “This is Blaine.”

“Hi Blaine,” two of the girls chorused, Rachel rushing to explain that they’d actually already met.

Kurt ignored her.

“This is Tina, and this is Mercedes.”

“Hi,” Blaine said. “It’s good to meet you guys. Kurt talks about you a lot.”

They both hugged him. At the same time.

“All good things, I hope,” Tina said.

“Of course,” Blaine assured her, trying to remember anything Kurt had told him about Tina during their many phone conversations. Something struck him, suddenly. “Most of his vitriol is saved for your show choir director.”

“Well, I totally agree with that,” she replied, grinning at them both.

Rachel opened her mouth, but Kurt cut her off. “I think Finn was looking for you earlier, Rachel. Something about choosing duet songs?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, well, I must go and discuss this. Correct song selection is key if you want to blow away your audience. Excuse me, everyone.”

When she was out of the room, Mercedes turned to Kurt. “Did you just throw your step-brother under the bus, Kurt Hummel?”

“Maybe,” he laughed, picking up a stick of carrot, waving it around slightly as he gestured to the spread in front of him. “Blaine came in here to get some food, not have his ears talked off by Rachel for the second time this evening.”

“Oh no, you poor boy. I’m surprised you aren’t packing your bags already,” Mercedes said.

“She wasn’t too bad. She’s just intense,” Blaine said as he piled up some food for himself. Kurt joined him, adding a couple of slices of pizza to his own plate.

“You’re so polite, Blaine. We’ll have to keep you around.” Mercedes pinched his cheek, and Kurt swatted her away.

“He’s not a pet. Leave him alone; he’s too polite to tell you himself.”

Blaine smiled at her, feeling more than a little awkward.

“Would you like a drink, Blaine?” Tina asked. She was pouring one out for herself, and Blaine wound himself away from Kurt and Mercedes to go and join her.

“Diet Pepsi, please, thank you.”

“Don’t mind us,” she said, as Kurt and Mercedes continued to bicker. “Kurt’s had a rough ride the last couple of years, we’re just excited that you’re here. He’s been so different since he met you, so much happier, and we’ve all been dying to meet you.”

“I’m glad he’s been happy,” Blaine said, Tina’s words working their magic and making him feel more at ease. “And I’m glad he has friends like you guys. He really does talk about you all a lot.”

She wrapped her arm around his waist, in a gesture reminiscent of Carole, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder in return.

 

* * *

 

The party ran late, and Burt and Carole left the boys to clean up once everyone had gone.

They worked quickly, all exhausted from a long day - desperate to get to bed - and before long, the house looked decent enough once more.

Kurt pulled Blaine into the guest room once they were upstairs, and Finn was out of sight.

“Take your time getting ready for bed, and then come and sit with me in my room for a bit,” he whispered. “If you want? My dad and Carole should be asleep by then.”

A flash of nerves clenched at the pit of Blaine’s stomach, but he nodded. “Okay, I’ll send you a text when I’m ready.”

Kurt pressed a kiss to his cheek, and darted out of the room.

Despite his instructions, Blaine found himself rushing to get ready, eager to spend some time with Kurt alone. He’d been made to feel so welcome at the house, and it was more than he ever hoped for, but he had missed being able to hang out as just the two of them. Somehow, they managed to have fewer opportunities for just them when they had a whole spread of time in front of them.

He sent Kurt a quick message, and sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for a reply.

It took a while, but eventually he heard from Kurt, and he crept along the corridor towards his bedroom, praying that Burt and Carole wouldn’t hear him.

“Should I shut the door?” he asked once he was inside.

Kurt frowned, staring at the door for a few seconds before nodding decisively. “It’ll help block any noise, just do it as quietly as you can.”

Blaine did as he was asked, Kurt coughing to try to disguise the snick as the door closed.

They sat on Kurt’s bed in silence for a couple of minutes, listening out for any noise in the house. Finn was still in the family bathroom, which Blaine hoped would create enough of a diversion from any noise they created.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Kurt asked, putting his hand over Blaine’s which lay between them on the bed.

“I did, your friends are all really nice.” It was an honest response, the party had been fun, and Blaine had enjoyed getting to meet all the people he heard so much about. 

“I’m glad,” Kurt said. “I’m even more glad we’ve got some time together now, though.”

Blaine smiled, a little unsure, a little nervous about what Kurt had planned for them, in his bedroom with the door closed.

“Hey,” Kurt said, squeezing his hand a little. “What’s up?”

“I’m just a little nervous,” Blaine said, focusing on their hands. It was easier, somehow, than getting lost in Kurt's eyes.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Kurt assured him. “We’ve had no real time for just each other today. I thought maybe we could lie here together and chat for a while.”

“That sounds good,” Blaine said. It was always reassuring to get confirmation that they were on the same page on these matters - it helped Blaine to feel more secure, and less nervous that the name on his arm would not be Kurt's.

They shifted on the bed, lying down next to each other, bodies carefully apart – only connected by their hands.

Kurt moved his head forward slightly, encouraging Blaine to do the same.

“I thought we were supposed to be talking,” Blaine said against his lips.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/123197837370/the-heart-of-me-ch6).


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt woke early on Christmas morning – noises from the kitchen disturbing his rest.

His phone showed him that it was not even five a.m. yet, and he lay there for a few minutes, trying to get back to sleep. He wasn’t six years old anymore, he didn’t need to be up before dawn on Christmas Day.

The longer he was awake, though, the more he thought about the day ahead of him, and the anticipation buzzed though him, waking him beyond the point of no return. He had volunteered to cook, and Blaine had said he’d help out, too. They’d have the whole day together – their first Christmas.

Sleep left far behind, he got up, wrapped his robe around himself, and padded his way to the kitchen.

It was still dark outside, Ohio firmly in the grip of winter, but Kurt resisted the urge to flick on any lights, not wanting to disturb anyone else in the house.

The light was muted in the kitchen, only a small lamp in the corner turned on Carole was there, also wrapped up tightly in a robe, and making herself some coffee.

“Merry Christmas,” Kurt said softly. He embraced her warmly. “Do you want me to make you some French toast? Do you have time?”

She had volunteered for an early shift in work – wanting to pay her dues after so many years of needed the whole day off so that she could be with Finn. Kurt and Blaine had spent the night before baking cookies for her to take in to share with the other nurses.

“There’s always time for your French toast, Kurt. I hope I didn’t wake you, though? It’s far too early to be awake, even on Christmas.”

“You didn’t,” he lied, rooting in the cupboards for what he needed. “Bacon and maple syrup?”

“You are a blessing to this world,” she said, handing him a mug of coffee. “I’m just going to go and shower, I’ll be back quickly.”

Kurt worked quickly and, engrossed in his task, he didn’t even notice Blaine arrive in the kitchen.

“Hi,” he said, startling Kurt, reaching out to hold Kurt’s hips when he jumped. Another jolt ran though Kurt – but it with the addition of touch, Blaine caused a flash of longing, not surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Merry Christmas.”

“It’s fine, I just didn’t hear you come down. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be up yet. Good morning, Merry Christmas.”

Kurt turned as he spoke, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders, fingers tangling in the hood of Blaine’s sweater. He took a second just to breathe in the moment, letting the sensation of Blaine in his arms settle into his mind, feeling the shift of Blaine’s shoulder muscles as he hugged him closer.

Slowly, lazily, they kissed. Spending time together had helped ease the nervousness Kurt was feeling around any physicality they shared. Every kiss at the shelter had felt loaded, like it had to be enough to sustain them both for the week while they were apart. Now, though, it was simpler – kisses punctuated the little moments, they didn’t only end the chapters.

Kurt laughed softly when they separated. “This is a good start to a Christmas Day; even when it’s far too early in the day.” His fingers played in the curly hair at Blaine’s neck – his hair hadn’t been tamed by gel yet, and Kurt kind of loved it.

“It is,” Blaine agreed. He left his hands on Kurt’s waist and Kurt found himself reluctant to move.

“Can I help out?” he asked.

Kurt groaned and pulled back. “You could package up the cookies we made? There are some boxes in that cupboard over there. Do you want any French toast? Coffee?”

“I’ll grab some juice, I think, but French toast sounds good.”

They worked quickly together, and by the time Carole was downstairs, breakfast was on the table, and the cookies were neatly packaged and waiting by the door.

“You boys,” she said, a wide smile on her face as she sat down. “You’re so good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kurt replied, pouring himself some orange juice. He sat next to Blaine, rubbing his back a little before turning his attention to his food.

They ate quickly, Carole leaving as soon as she’d finished, and the boys eager to get back to bed.

Kurt invited Blaine into his bedroom when they were upstairs, leaving the door wide open. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he hoped his dad would be lenient with it being Christmas.

“Come lie down with me,” he said, as he sat down on his bed, much more boldly than he felt.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. We have to be up in a couple of hours to start preparing dinner, this is probably the only time of calm we’re going to get, and I want to spend it with you.”

Blaine pressed his lips together, and glanced towards the door.

“We’ll sleep on top of the covers,” Kurt cajoled, scooting back on the bed. “And we’ll leave the door open. We’re not breaking any rules.”

After another few moments of indecision, Blaine came around to the opposite side of the bed, and sat down next to Kurt, legs over the edge of the bed.

Kurt smiled and shifted so that he was lying, holding an arm up for Blaine. “Here, come lie down.”

Blaine did as he was asked, Kurt reaching over him to set an alarm on his phone.

When he was done, he rubbed Blaine’s upper arm, trying to ease some of the tension he could feel there.

“You don’t have to nap in here,” he whispered. “I just thought it would be nice.”

“No, I want to be here,” Blaine said, not quite meeting Kurt’s eyes. “I just don’t want to upset your dad.”

“He’ll be fine,” Kurt assured him. “The door is open, we’re fully clothed, and Carole can vouch for the fact we were both up together this morning.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

Kurt smiled at him, kissing his forehead, before closing his eyes, and getting some rest.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, they were in the midst of chaos in the kitchen. The main meal wouldn’t be until Carole was home from work, but it meant they had to try to prepare something to keep Finn from snacking throughout the entire morning while he waited.

In an attempt to stop Kurt from murdering his brother after the sixth time in an hour he came into the kitchen and opened the fridge, Blaine decided to make everyone some chicken salad. It was something light, quick, and easy to prepare, and, most importantly, it didn’t involve using appliances and food which were required for the main meal.

Kurt once again found himself so grateful that Blaine was in his life – he just knew what needed doing, and he did it, complementing Kurt perfectly.

They sat at the kitchen table as they ate their snack, going through their list of what still needed doing, and deciding who should do what.

Carole’s sister had called to let them know that she was visiting in the evening, with her husband and kids, so they had to make sure there was enough food in case they wanted to eat, too, which added another level of complication to the proceedings.

Eventually, a whole new list was scribbled on the bottom of Kurt’s carefully typed out schedule for the day.

He sighed, shaking his head at Blaine. “Welcome to the mad house.”

Once Carole arrived home, a whirlwind of activity was left in her wake. She set Burt and Finn on preparing the table, while she helped the boys plate up in the kitchen.

“Is this for when Barbara comes over?” she asked when she spotted the list.

“Yep,” Kurt confirmed, spinning around to the other counter with a pot full of potatoes.

“Have I told you two enough about how wonderful you are?”

Blaine laughed, blushing as he carried a dish full of vegetables into the other room.

Kurt bent to kiss Carole’s cheek as soon as Blaine disappeared out of sight. “Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“For making Blaine feel so wanted.”

She shrugged. “I’m a mom. And he is wanted.”

 

* * *

 

Kurt crept up the stairs as soon as he could politely get away from Barbara and her family. They were nice, but loud, and extremely boisterous, and Blaine had excused himself from the room twenty minutes earlier, and not returned.

He knocked softly on the door of the guest bedroom, opening it slowly when he heard Blaine’s quiet response.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Blaine’s bowtie was undone, his eyes were red, and he looked sadder than Kurt had ever seen him before. It was almost shocking to Kurt, Blaine was normally so upbeat, so positive, it was wrong-footing him.

“What’s up?” he asked, closing the door behind him, and coming to sit on the end of Blaine’s bed.

Blaine rubbed his eyes and sniffed. He sat up, letting Kurt pull him under his arm.

“I don’t know, really. I’ve had a great day, honestly, I loved it. It’s just…”

“You miss your family?”

“Yes. Well, not really, not after everything that happened. I just miss what it could have been, if that makes sense?”

“Of course it does. I love Carole and Finn, I love having them here, but it doesn’t mean I don’t miss my mom. It’s called cognitive dissonance, Psychology 101.”

Blaine laughed, a short blast of hot air against Kurt’s neck, but he otherwise kept quiet.

It was such an unknown situation, something they’d never dealt with before, that it took Kurt a few quiet moments of indecision before landing on something to do.

He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, encouraging Blaine to do the same, until both names were revealed. Resting his head against Blaine’s, he left a minute of quiet, so that they could both just look at what was in front of them.

The first “m” in Kurt’s surname was fully revealed on Blaine’s arm, now, and the second was nearly completely formed, too. It gave Kurt more of a thrill than he thought it would, to see it so unarguably confirming what they already knew. He hoped that it was doing something similar to Blaine.

Kurt moved his arm, so that Blaine’s thumb was resting over his name.

“You’re part of our family now, okay? I know it’s not the same, and I don’t ever want you to feel like you need to hide the fact that you’re sad about how things went down with your mom and dad. But we’re here, and we all love you.”

Blaine froze, his hand tightening around Kurt’s arm.

Kurt closed his eyes, a small smile threatening, even though he wasn’t sure it was appropriate.

“You what?” Blaine asked. Kurt couldn’t see him, but he could tell that Blaine was facing him, and that there was a smile behind his words.

“Merry Christmas?” Kurt tried, opening one eye, and grinning at Blaine.

“Kurt!”

“I love you, okay?” Kurt said, making sure he was conveying what was a near enough approximation of a serious tone.

Blaine smiled widely, all trace of sadness forgotten. “I love you, too.”

 

* * *

 

“I’m trusting you to be responsible, okay?”

“Yes, Dad, I know,” Kurt groaned. “We will be.”

They’d been having variations of this conversation for the last hour, and Kurt was beyond frustrated. Burt and Carole had been invited to Toledo for Barbara’s post-Christmas party, and Finn had already made plans to stay at Puck’s place that night so that they could marathon-watch some horror movies.

It meant that Kurt and Blaine would be alone in the house for nearly twenty-four hours.

“Get a better attitude, kid, or I’ll bring Blaine in here and have this conversation with the both of you.”

Kurt sighed, but kept any further comments to himself, for Blaine’s sake (and maybe to try to hurry his dad out of the door, too).

“Just…” Burt sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. “Just be careful, okay? I’m not going to dictate what you can and can’t do, because I’m pretty sure you’re gonna ignore me anyway, but just, be safe, and be sensible, okay? You guys have got the rest of your lives for… all that.”

The blood rushed to Kurt’s cheeks, and he looked at the floor, trying to avoid his dad’s gaze. “Oh my God, Dad.”

“I’m just saying. Make good choices.”

Burt stood up, heading towards Kurt’s bedroom door.

“I love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, Dad.” Kurt said.

A few minutes passed with Kurt lying face down on his bed, trying to calm down and redirect the blood away from his face.

He rolled off his bed, and walked into his closet, climbing onto a chair he kept in there, and reaching for a box at the back of his top shelf.

Opening it, he shifted the piles of leaflets to the side of the box, and pulled out two smaller boxes – one box of condoms, and a box of lube. He wasn’t completely sure they’d need either of them tonight, but he didn’t want to have to be fumbling around in the closet at a critical moment.

He stashed them underneath some magazines in his nightstand, just in case anyone came looking in his room in the next few hours for whatever reason.

Downstairs, he and Blaine made themselves some dinner – turkey casserole, they were still eating Christmas leftovers – while Burt and Carole rushed to get ready. Finn flew out of the door, doling out a couple of portions to take for himself and Puck before he left.

By the time Burt and Carole were ready to go, the boys were sitting at the kitchen table, the best innocent faces they could manage plastered on their faces.

“Bye boys,” Carole said, bending to kiss each of them on the cheek. “That food looks good, make sure you save some for us!”

“We will,” Kurt replied. “There’s more than enough to put some in the freezer.”

“Excellent. Be good,” Burt reminded them, as he walked out towards the car.

Kurt groaned, but shook his head when Blaine looked questioningly at him. “It doesn’t matter. So, what do you want to do this evening?”

“Movie?” Blaine asked. “I don’t really mind, we can hang out and read Vogue all evening if you want to?”

Kurt considered his options.

“A movie sounds good. Do you want to pick one out while I clear our dishes up and make some popcorn? When you’ve chosen one, you can come make the drinks?”

Blaine did as he was asked, and before long they were settled on the couch watching _My Fair Lady_.

Neither of them was that hungry, though, and the popcorn was soon moved from sitting between them to the table, and they lay on the sofa, Blaine in front of Kurt, wrapped in his arms.

Kurt kept his hips carefully away from Blaine’s ass.

When the movie was done, he leaned forward, rubbing his hand along Blaine’s arm. “Should we watch another movie in my room?”

He could feel Blaine’s intake of breath.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah.”

“Okay, let’s get all this cleaned up and grab a couple of bottles of water. We can change into our pajamas up there and then choose something to watch, yeah?”

Kurt tried to calm his nerves while he took a quick shower. It was just Blaine, Blaine who he would be spending the rest of his life with, Blaine who would never expect anything more of him than he could give.

Blaine was in Kurt’s bedroom by the time Kurt was ready, sitting on the bed like he didn’t quite belong there.

“Hi, did you find a movie?”

“No, but there’s a Real Housewives marathon on, so I figure we can watch that, if you want?”

“Excellent. Make yourself comfortable,” Kurt said, trying desperately to disperse some of the nervous energy around them. He threw the covers back on the bed, shuffling underneath them himself, and encouraging Blaine to do the same.

He turned the volume on the TV down a little so that it wasn’t such an insistent noise, and lay down facing Blaine, hands carefully on his own side of the bed.

“Are you okay?”

Blaine nodded. “Just a little nervous, I don’t know why.”

“I’m not expecting anything here,” Kurt said, trying to make his tone as reassuring as possible. “I just thought it’d be nice to spend some time in bed together.” He laughed, nerves rushing out of him in a gust of breath. It was complicated, trying to talk about these things when he wasn't even sure he had the words, yet. “I’m not saying we can’t do anything but, I mean, I’m not ready for everything, you know?”

“Me neither,” Blaine said, nodding. He stretched his hand out so that it was cupping Kurt’s cheek. “But maybe a little would be fun?”

“Exactly,” Kurt agreed, relieved that once again that they were on the same page.

They traded kisses for long minutes, hands staying in safe zones, over clothes and on each other’s face, arms, and back – neither boy quite willing to make the first move. It was enjoyable, though, the slow build-up with the promise of a little more, and a whole night ahead of them to explore it.

Soon, though, the kisses turned heated and, adrenaline-fueled, Kurt felt bold enough to slide his hand underneath Blaine’s t-shirt.

Blaine groaned, which gave Kurt a little more courage in his movements, taking the time to grasp at Blaine’s back and pull him a little closer. His mind was on overload, the feel of Blaine’s skin underneath his fingers, and all the possibilities which lay before him, and he had to remind himself not to push it too far, too fast.

It was easier said than done, as the rush of hormones flooded over Kurt, and he rolled Blaine carefully onto his back. He hovered over him for a moment, taking I the sight in front of him – flushed cheeks, mussed hair, and eyes wide.

“Is this okay?”

“God, yes,” Blaine breathed.

“Can I..” Kurt said, trailing off when words failed him, and moving his hips down against Blaine’s instead. Sensation flowed through him, the feel of Blaine’s cock against his for the first time, the urge to just grind and grid until… “How about this?”

Blaine wrapped his legs around Kurt and arched up against him.

“Good,” Kurt laughed breathlessly.

They rolled, and moved, and laughed, and gasped, as they explored their newfound boundaries. Kurt could feel the sweat beading up on his neck as he moved, and he was tempted to take off this t-shirt. Ridiculously, though, given the fact that they were so embroiled in the most intimate thing he’d ever done in his life, Kurt felt self-conscious at the thought of removing any of his clothes.

Blaine’s fingers were scrabbling at his waist, trying to find purchase, and Kurt tried not to think about how good they felt digging into his waist.

It wasn’t working.

“I’m not…” he started, losing his thread and descending into a groan as he found a particularly good angle to thrust with.

“Going to last?” Blaine suggested, when it was clear that Kurt couldn’t find the words.

“Exactly.”

“Me either,” Blaine admitted.

They rocked against each other, trying to find a steady rhythm, now that they weren’t trying to hold off. It was awkward, and rough, and choppy, but it was working, and Kurt desperately tried to find Blaine’s lips with his own.

“I love you,” he whispered, feeling the pleasure build and build, knowing he had only moments left, and needing to be as connected to Blaine as possible.

Blaine groaned, his legs tightening around Kurt, and his body shuddering underneath him as his orgasm washed over him.

The feel of it against him was the last shove that Kurt needed, and he felt relief like he’d never felt before, like he never even knew existed.

“I love you, too,” Blaine laughed, when he’d caught his breath. “Even if you do make me all sticky.”

“You had something to do with that, too,” Kurt groaned, lifting himself up a little. “What do you say, we each take a shower, throw our laundry in, and then, we sleep?”

“Sounds perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/123806793285/the-heart-of-me-ch7).


	8. Chapter 8

“You look fine,” Blaine said, inspecting Kurt from his vantage-point on the bed. He was wearing leather pants with a patterned Alexander McQueen shirt, having changed his outfit about seven times in the last hour.

“I don’t want to look fine, Blaine, I want to look fabulous.”

Blaine looked at the clothes strewn over the bed, casualties of Kurt’s indecision. When Kurt had called him upstairs, he’d hoped they were going to take some time for themselves. Since their night together they’d been reduced to stolen moments, five minutes here and there when no one was looking.

It was frustrating – the flood gates had been opened, and it was an effort to hold back when they were alone, and some rushed grinding was all they had managed since. A part of Blaine was glad for the reprieve, though. He’d enjoyed the night he’d slept in Kurt’s bed, but sometimes everything was overwhelming, and being forced to step back a little gave him a chance to breathe.

He loved Kurt, and he loved this family, and knowing this was his future was incredible, but until that name on his arm was complete, he wasn’t going to allow himself to completely believe it.

“Here,” he said, passing over a blazer. “Try this, and put one of your broaches on the lapel.”

Kurt tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at the garment, and Blaine held his breath. Kurt was very particular about his outfits, outgoing and outlandish where Blaine was more controlled in what he wore.

“You’re a genius; I love you,” he said eventually, sliding the jacket on, and walking back into his closet.

Blaine breathed a sigh of relief.

It was another few days before the New Year’s party that Jim was throwing, but Blaine had to head back to Westerville to work, and so Kurt had demanded they choose his outfit before he left.

Blaine hadn’t expected it to take hours.

His bags were packed, and waiting in his bedroom, two packages of cake and cookies sitting on top of them – one for the shelter and one for work.

Kurt re-emerged from the closet, back in the clothes in which he’d started the day.

“What time do you need to leave?” he asked, moving some of the clothes from the bed to his chair, and sitting next to Blaine.

Blaine shrugged. They probably should have left a few hours earlier, but he didn’t want to leave Kurt’s house. Sitting next to him on a bed, on this bed was bringing back memories, drawing him in, tempting him to stay even longer.

“We could get dinner in Westerville if we leave in the next hour or so, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I think we should do that, have a little time to ourselves.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, sucking in a deep breath. The mere thought of leaving Kurt, this house, and his family made his stomach roll. He’d been made to feel so at home, part of the family; even Kurt’s friends had been welcoming to him. It was gut-wrenching to think about going back to the shelter and leaving it all behind.

Kurt wrapped his arm around Blaine’s waist, their legs pressing together, and rested his head on Blaine’s shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you, you know? We all are.”

“I’ll miss you guys, too,” Blaine said.

“No chance I can persuade you to move in here?” Kurt asked, rubbing his hand along the outside of Blaine’s thigh. It was an issue which had been brought up a few times during the trip, Blaine always deferring his answer.

“I’ll think about it, I promise,” he said. He turned his head so that he could breathe Kurt in a little, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. His job was the sticking point in his decision-making – he’d more than happily move out of the shelter and into Kurt’s house, but he loved working at the store. It was a slice of independence which he was unwilling to give up just yet.

“Okay,” Kurt said, like he always did, patient and accepting, his hand squeezing Blaine’s knee. “Come on, let’s go pack the car up and say goodbye to everyone.”

Blaine nodded and forced himself to stand up, pulling Kurt up with him.

Finn was out for the day at Rachel’s place – he’d said his goodbyes to Blaine that morning – but once the boys got downstairs, Burt and Carole each wrapped Blaine up in hugs, Carole offering him yet another container of food to take with him.

“You be careful there,” she whispered as they hugged. “We’ll see you in a couple of days. You’re welcome back here whenever you want to come.”

“Thank you,” Blaine said, squeezing her. Carole had been completely accepting of Blaine’s indecision, never questioning him, just reiterating that there was always a room at their house for him.

“You remember what I told you,” Burt said. He patted Blaine on the back as Kurt frowned at him.

“I will,” Blaine promised.

“Drive safe, okay?”

“We will, Dad,” Kurt replied, rolling his eyes. “I’ll text you when we get there, and when I leave. We’re going to go out for dinner so I won’t be back until late.”

“So,” Kurt asked Blaine later, as they sat across a table from each other in the Thai restaurant they had chosen. “What did my dad tell you that you needed to remember?”

Blaine finished his mouthful of food and smiled at Kurt. He’d been waiting for him to ask, and was surprised that he’d managed to wait until they were back in Westerville. Kurt wasn’t one for patience.

“Remember I told you that I rebuilt a car with my dad one summer?” Blaine said. He had to take a minute to fight back the memories – he knew at the time that his father was trying to make him someone he was not, but to have it confirmed less than a year later, with a yell and a hastily packed bag... The memory was almost revolting to him, now.

Kurt nodded, twirling some noodles around his fork as he let Blaine work through his issues.

“Well, your dad said if I moved to Lima, he’d train me up as a mechanic if I wanted. Then I could work to help pay my way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Blaine hadn’t been expecting the offer, when Burt had approached him a few days earlier, but it was something he was seriously contemplating. It would be a chance to replace bad old memories with new ones. Burt wasn’t trying to change him, Blaine was sure of it. He was accepting him fully, and helping him grow.

“I help out there, too,” Kurt said. “I could teach you some stuff, as well.”

“That’d be good,” Blaine said, anticipation for the future rushing through him. He’d dreamt that his soulmate would make up for some of what he went through with his parents but, with Kurt, he’d found a whole new family, too. It was more than he’d ever dared hope for. “We should do that anyway, I need to learn more about cars, especially if it’s your family business.”

“Great,” Kurt smiled. “We can start when the weather is a little better, it’s hard to wrangle wires when your fingers feel like they’re about to drop off.”

 

* * *

 

Three days later, Kurt found himself back in Westerville, wrapped in a robe, his outfit laid out on the bed in his hotel room, next to Blaine, who was watching the sports news on the TV, also wearing the comfy hotel robe.

They’d been out for dinner with Burt and Carole, and had an hour or so to kill before they had to leave for the New Year’s Eve party at Jim’s house.

Kurt moved his clothes, hanging them on the hook on the back of the door with Blaine’s, before lying down next to Blaine.

Blaine shut the TV off.

“We have a little time,” Kurt said, trailing off as he played with the sleeve of Blaine’s robe.

“Your parents are right next door,” Blaine said, glancing at the wall which separated them like Burt was going to come crashing through it if he touched Kurt.

“Turn the TV back on,” Kurt said. “It’ll help disguise any noise we make.”

Blaine did as he was asked, placing the remote control safely on the floor next to the bed before turning onto his side to face Kurt.

Kurt wriggled closer so that their bodies were touching, hips slightly apart.

“Do you want to do this?” he asked, eyes searching Blaine’s face. “If you’re worried about being overheard, we don’t have to do anything.”

“No, I do want to. We’ll just have to keep quiet.”

Kurt smiled and leaned forward, rolling Blaine onto his back and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m glad you said that.”

Blaine grinned up at him, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of Kurt’s neck.

Slowly, Kurt ran his hand down to Blaine’s chest, loosening his gown a little as he did so. “Is this okay?”

Blaine nodded. “I have underwear on underneath,” he said, a flush heating his cheeks. This aspect of their relationship was hard to navigate at times, even if they were both comfortable with how things were progressing. “I wasn’t sure what we were going to do, and I didn’t want to shock you.”

“Me too,” Kurt said, a soft laugh. He pushed up away from Blaine a little. “Should we maybe take the robes off, and get under the covers? Would that be better? I won’t look if you don’t want me too.”

More blood rushed to Blaine’s cheeks. “I don’t mind, you can look if you want to.”

Kurt nodded, and rolled off him, hastily removing his robe while Blaine struggled to get out of his. There were a few glances and nervous giggles, and eventually both boys were under the covers, Kurt lying over Blaine once more.

Dipping his head down, Kurt placed kisses on Blaine’s neck, his hand trailing up his arms. Blaine arched underneath him, their hips connecting, and he wrapped his legs around Kurt, pulling him down so that they stayed that way.

“God,” Kurt gasped. “Why does this feel so good? How do people with unlimited privacy ever get anything done?”

Blaine laughed breathlessly, sensation temporarily impeding his ability to form words. Kurt felt so good above him, so close and warm against his skin, it was difficult enough to remember to keep his groans quiet, let alone be responsible for monitoring the volume of his voice.

“Can we...” Kurt asked, breaking off into a moan before continuing. His lips were resting on Blaine’s neck, and he tried not to squirm at the feeling as they moved. “Could we maybe lose the underwear?”

Blaine nodded. He’d only brought one pair of boxer-briefs with him, it was lucky that Kurt still had some brain cells left for these issues. He moved his hands down, and then hesitated, looking up at Kurt.

“Should we do our own, or each other’s?”

Dithering for a second, Kurt’s hands flexed on Blaine’s shoulder. “Maybe each other’s?” he said, finally.

“Okay.”

Kurt shifted to Blaine’s side, encouraging Blaine to roll to face him. He took a moment to cup Blaine’s cheek, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. “I love you,” he reminded him.

“I love you, too,” Blaine said.

He moved his hands down, aware that it was Kurt who had been mostly taking the initiative in their intimate encounters.

His hands reached Kurt’s waistband, trembling slightly as he felt Kurt’s warm skin underneath his fingertips. It was momentous, in a way, a weighty moment, and he was eager to take everything in, remember it for when he was alone and missing Kurt.

Slowly, he gripped the waistband, edging it downwards as Kurt raised his hips to help ease the way. He glanced down briefly, not wanting to make Kurt feel uncomfortable, but needing to check how far he’d got Kurt’s briefs.

Satisfied that Kurt could wriggle the rest of the way out of them, he ran his hands back up over Kurt’s hip until he was back in safe territory, grasping at Kurt’s waist.

Kurt smiled at him shyly before moving to do the same for Blaine. Blaine shut his eyes, trying to concentrate on anything other than the feel of Kurt’s hand near his cock, scared that he’d come before they’d even started.

Once Kurt had pushed them down far enough, he kicked his boxer briefs off, waiting for Kurt to do the same with his.

“I brought some lube,” Kurt whispered. “Could we touch?”

A jolt, deep in the pit of Blaine’s stomach. He nodded, excitement sparking in him. Kurt had planned this. He’d wanted it to happen – it wasn’t just a spur of the moment, hormone-fuelled decision.

Kurt reached over for his bag, which was next to the bed, digging in it for a second and coming back up with a small bottle. He flipped open the cap, squeezing some out onto Blaine’s outstretched hand before doing the same for himself and tossing the bottle to the end of the bed.

“Can I…” he gestured towards Blaine’s cock, the sheet which had been covering them barely doing its job.

“Yeah,” Blaine nodded. “Should I, at the same time?”

“I think that’d be the best way, yeah.”

“Okay.”

Blaine reached out as Kurt did the same thing, the shock of lube cold against his cock. Kurt’s hand was warm, though, and pleasure quickly overtook him. He tried to concentrate on the feel of Kurt’s cock in his hand, trying to listen out for any noises he made to clue him into what felt good.

He could feel Kurt’s breath hot against him, his breathing rapid and harsh, much like Blaine’s.

Blaine wriggled a little closer; the back of Kurt’s hand brushing against his own. He tilted his head to kiss Kurt, needing a little extra connection.

“Here,” Kurt said, rolling so that Blaine was once more on his back, and batting his hand away from his cock. He wrapped his hand around both of them, Blaine groaning at the feel of Kurt’s cock against his.

“Oh God,” Blaine said, trying to get some purchase on the bed so that he could thrust upwards. It was impossible, though, and he just had to lie back, feeling their bodies catch and slide against each other, clutching at Kurt’s shoulders and feeling his orgasm start to brew.

Kurt stroked them faster, messily kissing Blaine as he did so.

Blaine groaned, his orgasm washing over him suddenly, and he reached down to stroke Kurt as soon as he’d recovered enough to think about it.

It wasn’t long before Kurt came all over his chest, too, groaning and grasping at Blaine’s waist.

“Holy shit,” Kurt laughed, when he’d got his breath back. “Looks like we both need to shower again.”

 

* * *

 

“We’re so glad that Blaine has found you guys,” Maureen gushed at Carole, Blaine standing awkwardly to the side of them, clutching a solo cup full of Pepsi, and looking around desperately for Kurt. “We were so worried about him, all alone in the world.”

He barely managed to suppress the urge to protest. Jim and Maureen’s concern stemmed from a good place, and they’d been so generous to him – he could deal with a little embarrassment.

“He’s told us such good things about you both,” Carole replied, putting her arm around Blaine’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. She’d had a few glasses of wine, and was clearly relaxed and enjoying herself. He briefly worried that she’d somehow be able to tell that he and Kurt had messed around earlier, and would call him out on it, even though they’d both showered afterwards. “The store sounds like a wonderful place, Blaine loves it. We’ll have to come and visit you next time we’re nearby.”

“That’d be great,” Maureen said. “I don’t get down there much these days, but I’ve heard Blaine play piano there, and it’s something to behold.”

“I’m going to find Kurt,” Blaine said, twisting out from under Carole’s arm, and smiling warmly at them both. “If you’ll excuse me.”

After looking in a couple of rooms, he eventually found him at the table of snacks, filling up his plate.

Kurt turned to him as he approached, a smile on his face. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“I was being fussed over,” Blaine laughed, shrugging self-consciously. “So I escaped to come and hunt you down. I hadn’t seen you for a while.”

“I needed food,” Kurt admitted quietly, picking up a sausage roll from his plate and studying it a little. “Apparently sex burns off more calories than I expected.”

Blaine felt his cheeks heat up once more.

“Me too,” he said, grabbing a plate for himself.

“Hi, boys,” Jim said, placing a couple more bowls of chips on the table. “Are you having a good time?”

“We are, thank you,” Blaine replied, rearranging some of the dishes so that there was more room for them.

“Did you have a good Christmas, Kurt?”

“Yeah, it was really good, thank you. And thank you for making sure that Blaine had the time off to come and stay, it meant a lot to us.”

“You’re welcome,” Jim said, smiling kindly. “You boys deserve a break. It’s hard enough being in love when circumstances are easy, never mind when there are other issues to deal with. I was happy to help. If you need anything you feel free to ask for it, we’ll try to be as accommodating as possible.”

“Thanks, Jim,” Blaine said. He was grateful for the offer, but sometimes Jim being so nice and accepting made his decision about whether or not to move to Lima more difficult. He didn’t want to let Jim down, or lose a positive relationship from his life.

“I need to go and mingle. You boys have fun – no drinking, though, I hear there’s a Congressman here.”

He winked at them, and disappeared into the crowd of people.

“I really like him,” Kurt said. “I’m glad you have such a great boss.”

“Yeah, he makes work fun.”

“I understand, you know,” Kurt said, pulling Blaine into a quiet corner. “Even more so now I’ve seen you relaxing and having fun with your coworkers. You have a life here, and friends – and that’s a lot to leave behind, especially when you’ve already had to leave everything behind once before. I’d love you to live with us, but I don’t want you to think it’s a deal breaker.”

Blaine sighed, a load lifting from his shoulders. He didn’t seriously think that Kurt would leave him if he didn’t move to Lima – they were soulmates after all. But it could breed resentment, and Kurt’s words did a lot to reassure him.

“Thank you. I promise I am thinking about it seriously – the last week has been so fantastic. Going back to the shelter was hard. I missed you more than ever.”

“That’s all I ask,” Kurt smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Blaine’s lips when he was sure no one was looking at them. “Come on, let’s go and ring in the new year together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I am away next week, so ch 9 will be up in two weeks time!)


	9. Chapter 9

The desk in front of Blaine was covered in textbooks and loose sheets of paper, highlighter pens and biros, the computer keyboard almost completely obscured. His phone sat next to the chaos, obnoxiously vibrating whenever Kurt sent him an encouraging message.

He had a few tests coming up – some in subjects he wasn’t great at – and he was eager to ace them, even if it meant spending every spare moment he had in the library. The assistants were beginning to know him by name, greeting him with a friendly wave whenever he walked through the doors. College was an integral part of his life plan – NYADA or Julliard if he could manage it – and keeping his GPA up was essential for that.

Failure wasn’t an option.

It was a Friday night, and Blaine had worked through most of the day, coming straight to the library from the store – stopping at a Subway on the way to gather sustenance last him through the evening of studying. He’d called Kurt while he was eating. They’d been reduced to quick phone calls during the weekdays while Blaine was working so hard, and it was wearing him down. The only reprieve was whatever weekend time they could grab together, but even that was beginning to feel inadequate. The craving for more was settled deep into Blaine’s bones – he wasn’t sure he’d ever be satisfied.

They had plans for the next day, though, and that was keeping Blaine sane for the time being. The next day was the Regionals competition, and Blaine was travelling up to Marion to watch the New Directions perform.

He was excited to see them live – show choir was a passion of his – but the majority of his energy was focused on seeing Kurt again. They still met up every weekend, but often spent the majority of their time at the library. This was a true opportunity to have a break, for the first time in a few weeks. Burt and Carole were driving over to watch the show, too, and were giving the boys a ride back to Westerville when they were done, and taking them out for a meal.

It had been a couple of months since he’d last seen Kurt’s parents, and he was looking forward to seeing them again, too. They had been so welcoming, and he’d kept in touch with them via occasional text messages, but it wasn’t the same as seeing them, as feeling Burt patting him on the shoulder, or Carole wrapping him up in a hug just because.

He took a sip of water from his bottle, pulled his earbuds out, and allowed himself a moment to read Kurt’s latest message – it was a complaint about last minute intensive rehearsals (“We do this every time, why do we never learn?”).

Laughing to himself, he tapped out a quick reply, sending encouragement, well wishes, and a reminder to eat well – the last thing they needed was Kurt collapsing on stage in the middle of their set. Blaine was pretty sure that their eleventh-hour practice wouldn’t include contingency plans for fainters.

His schoolwork glared up at him from the table and, despondently, he pushed his phone back off to the side, picking up a pen to make yet more notes.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Blaine found himself on an uncomfortably stuffy bus from Columbus, wedged on a seat next to an unforgiving window. He’d tried bundling up his sweater and using it as a pillow, but the vibrations still made his brain rattle, and he’d given up attempting to sleep.

There was a woman sitting on his other side who had rebuffed all his attempts at polite conversation, and he’d eventually resorted to putting his iPod on – risking appearing like yet another rude, untalkative teenager.

He listened to the songs which shuffled through his playlists, trying not to hum along, and mentally arranging them for a show choir he was no longer a part of. He’d asked Kurt not to tell him which songs New Directions would be singing, wanting to hear how they reworked the songs without any preconceived ideas on how it should be done. From his Warbler days, Blaine was more than aware that he had a tendency to jump in and offer his suggestions, and New Directions wasn’t his choir – Regionals wasn’t his competition to prepare for. It had been difficult for Kurt to keep quiet, Blaine knew, even though he wasn’t sure that Kurt understood why, but he’d managed. It had helped that they’d been reduced to minimal contact over the week – fewer opportunities to slip up.

As they pulled up at the station, Blaine saw Burt and Carole sitting undercover, waiting for him to arrive. He gave them a small wave out of the window before turning his attention to packing his bag up.

Apologetically, he squeezed past his neighbor – who refused to move any to accommodate him.

Before he’d even stepped fully off the bus, Carole was there, wrapping him in a hug so tight he could barely catch his breath, his bag bumping uselessly against his leg. She smelt faintly of cinnamon, and Blaine would have put money on the fact he’d be returning to the hostel with a box of treats she’d made.

“Hi, sweetie,” she said, rubbing his back fiercely. “We missed you.”

“I missed you guys, too,” he said, blinking rapidly to will back tears which had appeared without his consent. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed Kurt’s family, but Carole had squeezed him so hard something had cracked open in his chest.

The minute Carole released him, he found himself in Burt’s arms – another bone-crushing hug which almost lifted Blaine clean off floor.

“Have you eaten yet?” Carole asked as they walked back to their car, her hand gently placed on Blaine’s back, as if she didn’t quite believe he wouldn’t disappear if she let him go. “We saw a Subway about fifteen minutes back; we thought we’d get a quick lunch there.”

“I haven’t,” Blaine replied. Now that she mentioned it, he was a little hungry. “I packed some snacks but I didn’t think my neighbor on the coach would appreciate my crunching. Subway sounds good.”

“Excellent. Just don’t tell Finn – he’ll be mad that we went without him.”

Blaine nodded and slid into the back seat of Burt’s truck, stowing his bag safely next to him. “Will we have time to see them before they perform?”

Burt laughed, the noise of the engine and the sports news on the radio almost drowning him out. “I’m pretty sure Kurt will move heaven and earth to see you before they go on, buddy.”

A warm glow settled in Blaine’s chest – he felt calm, content for the first time since Christmas.

Later, pleasantly full, he found himself backstage at the theater, tentatively knocking on the door of the New Directions dressing room. Kurt was expecting him, and he knew Finn would be, too, but he still felt like an interloper, worried that he would be unwelcome at such a time of high stress.

The wait before anyone answered felt almost interminable. The corridor was filled with show choir kids rushing around, whirlwinds of color, and Blaine watched them – trying to figure out if he was glad or disappointed that he was no longer a part of their world.

Suddenly, the door opened, Kurt on the other side of it. He looked exhausted – unsurprising given the amount of long, intense rehearsals they’d been having recently. He was smiling though, a wide grin just for Blaine.

It felt like home.

Before Kurt could even greet him, Rachel grabbed Blaine by his forearm and hauled him past Kurt and into the center of the room.

“Blaine will agree with me,” she stated, staring at him. She was tiny, but fierce. He had the feeling that Rachel wanted him to just nod along, but he kept quiet, eleven other pairs of eyes willing him to take their side.

“Oh my God, Rachel, leave him alone,” Kurt implored, gently pulling Blaine back toward him. “He just got here; he doesn’t need to be recruited into your fascist regime.”

“I hardly think…” Rachel started, but she was immediately shouted down by the other members of the group, a chorus of disapproval – unharmonious and jarring. Blaine shrank back, trying to head for the door.

Kurt held onto him, pulling him into a corner instead.

“Sorry,” he said, glancing back at his team members before addressing Blaine once more. “Things are a bit crazy here.”

“I can go,” Blaine offered, twisting back toward the door.

“Stay a little while? I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too. I don’t want to be in the way, though.” Voices in the room were getting progressively louder, and Blaine watched over Kurt’s shoulder, waiting for a leader to take charge of the situation.

“You aren’t.”

“Kurt,” Blaine laughed, gesturing fruitlessly at the room. “This is chaos.”

Kurt smiled back at him, unconcerned, shrugging a little. “This is typical New Directions. It’s practically a tradition, now.”

It was a world away from Dalton.

“You look handsome,” Blaine offered. Kurt, like all of the other boys, was dressed all in black, a simple black cuff covering his soulmate mark.

“Thank you, I wasn’t involved in the costumes, but even I can appreciate the ease of simplicity. Sometimes it’s the best way. Although I miss my bracelets.”

Blaine missed them, too. “Do I get to find out what songs you guys are doing?”

“Nope, you can find out when we’re on stage, like everyone else.”

Blaine grinned, he hadn’t expected anything less. “I should probably head out front, now. Burt and Carole said our seats are right by where you guys will be sitting once you’re done.”

“Yes, I’ll fight everyone else so I can sit by you,” Kurt said, a teasing grin on his face. He leaned forward conspiratorially. “I really want to kiss you right now, just so you know.”

“Me too,” Blaine admitted. “Break legs, okay?” He ran his thumb gently over where his name resided on Kurt’s skin. Kurt’s name was two letters away from being complete on his own arm, and occasionally, in the depths of night, Blaine allowed himself to believe that this was all going to work out for him.

“We will. See you soon.”

Thirty minutes later, Blaine was watching, open-mouthed, as New Directions blew everyone away with… _original songs_? Blaine didn’t always get a chance to hear everything which had recently been released these days – he was so busy between schoolwork, and the store, and Kurt – but he was pretty sure these were songs they’d written themselves. And they were _good_.

He clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd when their set was done, waving at Kurt when he caught his eye.

When the New Directions piled into the theater, Kurt was leading the charge, and Blaine felt relief flood through him as Kurt thumped down into the seat next to him.

Burt and Carole busied themselves talking to the other kids, giving Kurt and Blaine a blissful moment of quiet.

“You were so good,” Blaine enthused, barely managing to keep still in his seat. “I can’t believe you guys did original songs and rocked that hard!”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Kurt smiled, clutching Blaine’s hand between his own. He was still shaking slightly, adrenaline pumping through his body. Blaine held him tighter. “That’s why I kept it a surprise. The final product surpassed the idea.”

“It was incredible. You guys have got to win.”

Kurt grinned at him, and they turned their attention back to the stage, the next group taking their places to perform.

In Blaine’s (totally unbiased) opinion, neither group which followed New Directions came close to matching their set, and he relaxed slightly, confident in their win. Kurt was still vibrating with excitement next to him when the lights went down on the last group – excitement palpable from all of the members of New Directions.

Blaine missed the Warblers.

He stood up, glad of the opportunity to stretch his muscles a little – there was very little leg room in the theater. He couldn’t imagine how Finn was feeling with his long legs.

Burt and Carole excused themselves, and heir places were taken immeditaly by a couple of Kurt’s teammates, Puck and Sam, if Blaine remembered correctly.

Puck had swung over from his seat in front of them, sitting on the back, and he grinned at Blaine. “Hey, bro! How’s it going?”

“Good, thanks. You guys were great up there.”

“Yeah, we were awesome! Don’t say that to Rachel, though, she’ll be more insufferable than ever.”

Blaine smiled at him, but didn’t promise anything. He got the impression that exasperation was the normal reaction to Rachel, and he didn’t want to be a jerk simply because everyone else was fed up with her. She deserved props for what she’d done on the stage.

“When are you next visiting Lima?” Sam asked, bumping Blaine with his shoulder. “We need another game night, and it’s not quite the same without you around. If Kurt will let us borrow you, of course.”

Kurt rolled his eyes fondly. Blaine got the impression that it wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, and the warm glow in his chest made its presence felt once again. “I’m sure I could spare him for a couple of hours.”

“That sounds good,” Blaine said. “I’m in the middle of a ton of scheduled tests at the moment, but once I’m done with them, I’m hoping to come over again for a bit.”

Finn leaned over the back of the row in front of them. “You should just move in with us, dude. Then you’d see Kurt all the time, and he wouldn’t complain when we want you for alien smashing duties.”

Blaine smiled at him, not quite sure how to respond to Finn, even though the idea sounded like perfection. Life was rarely that simple, though.

“Leave him alone,” Kurt warned, pointing a threatening finger at Finn. “Blaine has commitments in Westerville.”

Finn held his hands up, widening his eyes comically, and turning back to his conversation with Mike.

“You cold wrestle some solos from Rachel,” Puck said, laughing. The seat underneath him creaked threateningly. “Come to McKinley and shake things up a bit. I promise I’ll stop anyone from shoving you into lockers.”

“Thanks,” Blaine said, not entirely sure how to deal with him. His heart was in the right place, but he was pretty terrifying.

Kurt shook his head, waving a hand at Puck and Sam. “Ignore them. I told them not to bother you, but it seems you made quite the impression on everyone at Christmas.”

“Guys!”

Everyone turned to look at someone, presumably their coach, Mr. Schuester. Idly, Blaine wondered where he’d been when the war in the dressing room was gathering pace earlier. Kurt’s numerous complaints about him suddenly seemed more understandable.

“The judges are coming back,” he said. “We need to get on stage.”

Blaine hugged Kurt; a platonic hug, their hips a respectable distance apart. “Go get your trophy,” Blaine whispered.

He would have given anything to be up on that stage celebrating with Kurt when their name was read out.

 

* * *

 

Finn and Kurt were still riding high on their win when they were seated at the small Chinese restaurant in Westerville a couple of hours later.

Burt and Carole laughed fondly as they recounted a story from their bus trip to the theater, Quinn and Puck falling into an argument over a can of pop which quickly escalated, and continued for the entire journey.

“Who needs daytime soap-operas when you have the McKinley High Glee Club?” Kurt laughed.

Carole shook her head fondly, taking a sip of her wine. “You boys don’t often have good things to say about Mr. Schuester, but he must have a hell of a time keeping on top of all the drama you kids cause.”

Finn opened his mouth, and Carole shut him up with a wave of her hand.

“Don’t you even start, Finn Hudson. You brought enough drama in your first year there to tide you over for both junior and senior years.”

Instead of protesting, he grabbed a spring roll from the plate in the middle of the table, smiling innocently at his mother as he took a bite.

“Was there so much drama at Dalton, Blaine?”

“Not so many pregnancy scares,” Blaine said flippantly, unthinkingly, shrugging his shoulders. Half a second passed where what he said seeped into his conscious mind, and he clamped his hand over his mouth in horror. “I am so sorry,” he mumbled, eyes wide as he took in the reaction of Kurt and his family.

Another beat in which Blaine was pretty sure he was going to have a heart attack, and then Burt burst out laughing, loud guffaws which broke the air of shock around the table, everyone else joining in with the peals of laughter.

“Oh, buddy,” Burt said, wiping a tear away from the corner of his eye. “You fit right in, we’re keeping you.”

Their food arrived, and they all ate quickly, appetites back in full force after nerves had chased them away at lunchtime.

“So, how is school going, Blaine?” Carole asked as the initial rush to eat had calmed down.

“It’s good,” Blaine nodded. “Pretty stressful, at the moment. I missed a lot when I had to move, so I’m trying to catch up. I’m done for Spring Break soon, though.”

“You’re welcome to come and stay with us, if your hours at the store work out,” Carole offered. “You’re welcome any time, I hope you know that.”

“I do,” Blaine assured her. “Thank you.”

He chewed his bite of food thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to even approach what he wanted to say.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “About your offer to move in.”

Kurt’s eating utensils clattered to his plate, and Blaine squeezed his knee apologetically. He should have spoken to Kurt alone first, but it was a complicated subject, and he couldn’t bear for them to be swept away in fantasies which would never happen. Better to ground himself in the facts before any decisions were made.

“I wanted to talk to you all together about it, because I guess it affects you all,” he said slowly, still stalling for time, fumbling for what to say.

Blaine glanced up at Carole, the only person he could bring himself to look at in such an intense moment. She was motherly, caring, and while Burt and Finn had been nothing but welcoming to him, he was still slightly uneasy when it came to gaining their approval.

“I’ve spoken to Jim about it, and he’s said he’ll cut my shifts down to whatever I can work with. I don’t want to give that job up completely, so I may still work there when I’m not in school. I don’t know, it’s all up in the air at the moment.”

He forced himself to look at Burt. “I want to work at the garage, too. To help pay for my food and board at your house.”

“That’s not necessary,” Carole started, but Blaine cut her off.

“I want to,” he said fiercely. “I want to learn more about cars, too, from someone who is teaching me because they want me to learn, not because they want to change who I am.”

Burt nodded solemnly. “Okay, kiddo. We can definitely sort that out. Maybe I can set Kurt up to teach you when I’m not around,” he offered.

“I’ll help, too,” Finn said through a mouthful of rice. “As long as you promise to help out on video game nights.”

“Deal,” Blaine said. The knot of tension which had been sitting in his chest loosened a little.

“What about school?” Carole asked, gently.

“I don’t want to transfer mid-year,” Blaine said with a grimace. “I’m still behind in my studies, so it’d be too complicated, but I’m hoping that I’ll be ready to go into junior year after summer.”

“But you can do your online school from anywhere, right?” Kurt asked, tremors of excitement passing over him once again.

“Yeah,” Blaine replied. He turned to face Kurt, smiling gently at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first, but I needed to figure out where I stood with my job, first, and then with us all getting together, it was too good of an opportunity to pass over.”

“It’s fine,” Kurt assured him.

“Well,” Burt said, “I guess it’s time for Carole and I to confess that we are most of the way through the process of being verified by the state as a safe place for you to live. It’s pretty formulaic, given that you two are soulmates, but we had to do it, anyway. We should be signed off within the next week.”

Blaine felt tears threaten once again. The love that these people, this _family_ , showed towards him – they consented to having their house and parenting skills assessed by strangers simply so that he could be a part of their family. In a few short months they had showed him more love and acceptance than his own family ever had in his whole life. It was overwhelming.

Carole pulled him into a side hug, kissing the top of his head.

“Whenever you’re ready, sweetheart. We’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/125618861015/the-heart-of-me-ch-9).


	10. Chapter 10

The counter-tops of the Hummel-Hudson’s kitchen were piled high with Tupperware containers full of food, all cooling down ready to be placed in the freezer.

On the only work surface left available, Kurt was working furiously, chopping vegetables in preparation for blanching and freezing them.

It was spring break, and he was determined to get as far ahead on his chores while he could. Prepping meals ahead of time was an obvious step – the ease of pulling something out of the freezer after a long day and heating it back up was too tempting, even if the meals did lose a little something in the process.

He wouldn’t be using those meals every day, he reasoned, just when he was too busy to prepare anything fresh. That’s where the pre-chopped vegetables came in. In the end, it may only save him ten or twenty minutes each evening, but it was all valuable time.

Valuable, because Blaine was moving in.

A home-visit from Family Services while Kurt and Finn were in school had all gone well, and Burt and Carole were finally registered and licensed to look after vulnerable children. ( _This might be a good path_ , Carole had said at their first Friday night dinner after they received the news. _For when you boys all go off into the big wide world. It’ll save me from any empty-nest syndrome after Blaine leaves_.)

On Blaine’s side, after a few weeks of discussion with Kurt and his family, as well as negotiation with Jim, he’d finally arranged his hours at the store so that he could stay on there while he lived in Lima. Jim and Maureen were willing to let him stay over at their house so that he could work a couple of days in a row each week, saving him from wasting all of his earnings on travel expenses. In return for his board, Blaine had agreed to give a couple of their grandkids piano lessons once a week while he was there. Jim had been teaching them, but worsening arthritis had made demonstrating on the piano keys difficult for him, and Blaine was an obvious replacement.

When Blaine had called Kurt with the news that everything was finalized, Kurt had needed to sit down on his bed – heartbeat rising to a gallop almost immediately.

“And, he’s said I can work my shifts during the week, so I’d have my weekends free to spend with you in Lima,” Blaine had told him, his words coming out in a garbled rush as he walked back to the shelter from the store – unwilling to wait any longer than necessary to share his news. Kurt could practically hear him shaking with excitement.

It wasn’t ideal, of course. Kurt would have preferred that Blaine was in Lima with him the whole time – but he knew Blaine’s job was important to him and, in all honesty, a couple of days apart would do wonders for Kurt’s GPA. He knew he had a tendency to lose focus whenever Blaine was around.

It also saved Blaine from feeling too lonely at home on his own during the week. Carole was generally around during the day more than parents with average nine-to-five jobs, but there were some weeks where it was entirely possible that Blaine would be on his own during school hours for the five days out of seven – and that would no doubt be difficult for someone who was used to communal living.

No, it was a good thing that Blaine had other activities to keep him busy, even if Kurt was going to miss him like hell.

Kurt had been on a man on a mission since he’d got the confirmation of the move. Blaine was busy working as many hours as he could at the store during his break from school, and Kurt found himself needing to be similarly distracted. His first thought was redecorating the guest room, which was to become Blaine’s new bedroom, but he dismissed that quickly. Blaine may want to help in the decision-making but, more likely, he wouldn’t feel comfortable making any major changes at all.

So, Kurt fell back on the things he loved – cooking and fashion. His mornings were dedicated to the kitchen, and he’d allow the meals to cool while he focused on some new designs upstairs, methodically working his way through his closet and updating anything he deemed to need it.

Evenings were set aside for school work – he and Finn working together on nights when Carole wasn’t around to stop them from doing so ( _It’s cheating, boys. You’re not helping each other; you’re doing the work for each other, and that won’t help either of you in the long-term_ ). Finn spent most of his days working – all-but grounded after a few bad midterm results – and Kurt had lasted about two days before Finn’s pitiful look wormed its way into his sympathies.

Burt was away working in Washington DC, but he’d be home a few days after Blaine arrived, after Kurt and Finn went back to school, promising to take him along to the garage a couple of mornings to get him acquainted with how things worked there. He was refusing to let Blaine work there properly until he’d been in Lima for a few weeks, despite Blaine’s protestations. Burt had argued that Blaine needed to find a routine for himself and settle in before he got too bogged down in everything he’d promised himself to.

The compromise was a few outings to the garage before Blaine started helping out there.

Everything was set up for Blaine’s arrival, even though he wasn’t due to arrive for a couple more days, and the overflowing freezer was possibly a sign that Kurt had too much time on his hands.

Eventually, once his latest creations were safely stored away from Finn, he decided to head out and buy some new school supplies. That way, he could pass his old stuff on to Blaine, and Blaine would be none the wiser.

He stayed out as long as he could manage, aware that the minute he was home, he’d descend into ordered chaos once again. He was fairly sure Carole would flip her lid if she came home to yet more rolls of home-made cookie dough piled up in the fridge.

An idea occurred to him, and he snapped a quick picture on his cell phone of the aisle lined with pens and paper, and sent it to Blaine.

_“I’m at Staples – picking up supplies for the house! Any requests, roomie?”_

He knew that Blaine would be taking a break soon, and able to check his phone, so he wandered around a little, picking up a few notebooks to share out between everyone.

Next to go into his cart were a ton of pens. Everyone in the house went through pens at an alarming rate – he and Finn were forever loaning theirs to people at school, his dad was constantly losing his at the office, or the garage, or out on the road, and Carole always took four pens with her to the hospital at the start of her shift and was lucky if she came home with even one.

He paused for a second, and then threw in another tub-full.

A message came through, vibrating against his hip, and he shifted to the side of the aisle so that he wasn’t yet another annoying, distracted shopper in the way of everyone else, and pulled his phone back out of his pocket.

_“You don’t have to buy me anything, but if you insist, I’ll use anything which fits in with your scheme.”_

_“I knew I loved you.”_ Kurt tapped out, a smile forming which he couldn’t quite temper back down.

He wouldn’t buy them matching stationery, of course. He wasn’t sure any of the Neanderthals at McKinley would notice, but it wasn’t worth taking the risk. It was unlikely they’d be in any of the same classes when Blaine started at the school, but Kurt wanted a little connection between them somehow. Matching items were out of the question, but he’d buy them stationery which subtly complemented – they’d know what it meant, and no one else would.

It took him a while to pick things out, and by the time he got home and emptied his haul into the relevant rooms, he was late making a start on dinner.

“Finn!” he yelled up the stairs. “Pizza okay for tonight?”

There was a second of silence, followed swiftly by the shuffle of footsteps across the floor of Finn’s room, and then a door opening. “Yeah, dude!”

The sheer joy in Finn’s voice made Kurt smile. He didn’t often allow junk food in the household – too worried about Burt’s health to relent when Finn complained about yet another brown rice salad – but on nights like this, sometimes it was just easier to order out.

“Why don’t you invite the guys over? Pizza and a game night?” Kurt asked, as Finn came thumping down the stairs. He looked suspiciously well-rested considering he’d supposedly been working on his school work all day. Kurt couldn’t blame him for giving in to the temptation to nap, and chose not to call him on it.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Your mom is pulling a double shift, and I don’t feel like facing my English paper tonight.”

Finn looked at him for a few seconds, his eyes narrowing. “Are you okay, dude?”

“I’m fine, Finn.”

“Missing Blaine?”

Kurt allowed himself to roll his eyes at his brother. “Of course I am.”

“You should call him when everyone is here, we can let him know how the game is going – then he’s prepared. I was going to get everyone around for a game night a couple of weekends after he arrives, so this way he’ll know what to expect from the game when that happens.”

“Maybe I will,” Kurt said, fondly. It wasn’t any sort of preparation which Kurt had envisaged Blaine needing, but it was sweet of Finn to think about it. “I’m sure he’ll love another game night with you guys, too. He had a blast last time.”

Finn pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, presumably to text the guys. Kurt leaned on the doorjamb and waited for him to finish.

“Are you okay with Blaine moving in, Finn?” he asked, when he finally had his attention again.

“What?”

“I just realized I never really asked for your opinion on the idea. So I’m just checking.”

“Are you kidding? I love Blaine! I mean, not like you do, of course, that’d be super weird, and at first I was a little worried because he was homeless and you don’t know how that could have affected him and his personality, but then we met him, and he’s cool, and he really loves you, and he’s pretty good at video games, and that’s awesome.”

“Take a breath,” Kurt laughed, echoes of his father in his mind. “I just wanted to be sure. You’ve been really great about all this, and I appreciate it. I know it hasn’t always been easy.” He tried not to blush, the memory of his crush on Finn still fresh in his mind, even though so much had changed since then. “I’m glad you’re my brother, you know.”

“Me too,” Finn grinned, pulling Kurt toward him and giving him a lung-constricting hug.

Kurt wiggled free after a couple of seconds, concerned for his oxygen levels. “Call for pizza and then come and help me get set up before everyone arrives? I want to watch you guys kill some extra-terrestrials.”

“Really?” Finn asked, skepticism clear in his tone. Kurt normally avoided the boys’ nights like the plague.

“Yeah, sure,” Kurt replied. “Looks like it’s going to be a part of my life from now on, You’ve got to heat the water gently when the frog is in it – may as well start now.”

“There are no frogs in this game, man,” Finn said fondly, ruffling Kurt’s hair before walking over to the drawer where they kept the menus, rifling through them until he found the one that he wanted. Kurt stared at him until he put them back into the drawer neatly. “I’ll teach you how it goes, no worries.”

* * *

Three days later, Kurt was parked in the lot outside of the youth hostel, Carole at his side as they prepared to collect Blaine and bring him home for good. His hands were trembling slightly, and he took a moment to pull in a lungful of air, hoping it would ward off the nausea gently listing in the pit of his stomach.

Blaine was waiting for them, the arch of the doorway framing him like he was posing as some sort of clothing model. Fantasies of a future life swept through Kurt’s mind as he stepped out of the car: Kurt at Parsons, and Blaine his muse and model.

Still, inexplicably, moderately shy around Carole, Blaine smiled at them faintly as they walked toward him.

Carole was the first to reach him, unconcerned with propriety as she swept him into her arms as soon as she was close enough. “You’re coming home,” she said, pressing her face into his shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re coming home.”

“So am I,” he replied, grinning at Kurt as he looked on helplessly. “We have some paperwork to fill in, but it shouldn’t take long.”

They’d known that already, that’s why Carole – exhausted from a chaotic few weeks at work – had made the journey to Westerville, too. Kurt was glad she was around, but he still found himself hoping that she’d doze off on the ride home.

They trooped into the office, Helen greeting them with a friendly smile and handshakes all around.

Kurt barely paid attention to what was said, his attention completely focused on the boy sitting next to him, their trembling hands clinging onto each other.

Carole signed some forms, Blaine briefly let go of Kurt’s had to add his own shaky signature to the mix, and Helen signed them last.

“Someone from the Department of Family Services will set up a visit schedule with you,” Helen said as she filed the paperwork away. “They normally come out after one month, then three, then six. It’s a routine check, nothing for any of you to be concerned about. They just have to check that Blaine’s needs are being met, and that you are all satisfied with the amount of support you are receiving in your transition.”

Carole nodded, smiling at Blaine. “I’m sure there won’t be any problems, Blaine has fitted in so well in our home already – it feels like there’s someone missing when he’s not around.”

Helen sat back in her chair, affection clear in her gaze as she looked Blaine over. “I can definitely understand that. I’m happy he’s found somewhere so wonderful to go, but we’re really going to miss him around here. You need to come and visit us every now and then, okay, Blaine? Bring your show choir trophies, or your high school diploma, or your acceptance into Harvard, or Yale, or Julliard. Hell, bring your A-grade homework. We just want to see how you’re doing.”

Blaine nodded fiercely, swiping at the tears falling from his eyes. “I will, I promise. You guys gave me my life back, and I won’t ever forget it.”

After taking one for herself, she pushed the box of tissues which was resting on her desk towards him. She sniffed delicately, and stood up. “Give me a hug, and then I’ll let you collect your bags.”

He stood up, breaking his connection with Kurt once again as he stepped up to meet Helen halfway across the room.

Carole looked at Kurt with watery eyes while Blaine and Helen embraced. Helen’s hands were fisted in Blaine’s t-shirt, and Kurt had to turn away, worried that he was somehow intruding on a special moment simply by being present in the room. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to him that Blaine had touched so many lives – it made it all the more unbelievable that his parents could turn their back on him.

They were missing out on someone exceptional, and the usual surge of anger which accompanied Kurt’s feelings about Blaine’s parents was swiftly followed with a grim satisfaction that they would never get to see Blaine again, and they’d never gain the benefit of how remarkable he truly was.

It was their loss, all of their own terrible making, and Kurt hoped they regretted it for the rest of their lives. He hoped that guilt kept them awake every damn night, and gave them stress ulcers.

Across the room, Blaine was whispering something to Helen as they hugged, but all Kurt could catch was a quiet “thank you.” 

* * *

 

It took a while for there to be any sort of real routine in the Hummel-Hudson(-Anderson) house. Blaine moving in over spring break had meant they’d all had a little time to relax, time to unpack and rearrange things at will, and time for shopping trips for anything Blaine was missing, however, it had left them drifting slightly, suspended in the moment until school restarted.

Kurt had enjoyed the opportunity to relax and help Blaine settle in, but with no real structure to his days, he’d started to feel antsy, like he was hovering too much, like he was somehow making Blaine feel like he was under constant supervision.

He’d worked to hide his increasing stress from Blaine, but once Kurt and Finn were back at school, Kurt noticed that Blaine seemed to relax, too.

Definitely soulmates.

With Burt’s permission, Kurt loaned Blaine his car for his trips to Westerville, saving him from the stress and unreliability of public transport.

It took a couple of weeks for Blaine to be anything other than completely exhausted, and Kurt had found himself at the point of sitting down with Blaine and checking that the move was actually working out for him.

“Of course it is,” Blaine had said, sitting upright on the center of his well-made bed, legs crossed neatly in front of him. Sometimes, Kurt worried that Blaine was afraid to make a lasting impression in the house, as if disruption would shake his foundations. “I know we haven’t got to properly hang out much, but just being here with you is enough for me right now. Making you a coffee to take on your ride to school in the mornings, helping you make dinner at night, helping you choose songs for glee club, doing our schoolwork together at night? That was the kind of stuff I’d dream about when I was at the shelter.”

He’d smiled, sitting up on his knees and scooting forward on the bed toward Kurt, who was perched on the edge. “I get to kiss you goodnight, in private, five or six evenings every single week. That’s worth all the tiredness in the world.”

Kurt had left Blaine’s bedroom with a much lighter heart than the one with which he’d entered.

A few weeks in, when Blaine had settled into his new routine (and a week after Finn’s game night with Blaine and the guys because _you promised we could borrow Blaine, Kurt_ ), they finally found some time for a date night.

Breadstix was hardly the pinnacle of restauranting excellence, but it was the first time Blaine had ever been there – and the smile on his face throughout the evening more than made up for their surroundings.

They’d dressed up – probably to the point of excess for a small Italian restaurant, but as Kurt faced Blaine, who was dressed in a form fitting patterned navy-blue shirt and a tartan bow-tie, he couldn't bring himself to care. Blaine's light blue blazer was neatly folded next to him on the bench, and Kurt was all-too aware of the tight maroon jeans which were hidden from his view.

“Is this our first real date?” Blaine asked, delicately breaking off a section of his complementary (read: stale) breadstick, and popping in his mouth. He was jovial, giddy even, and a part of Kurt wanted to pull his phone out and film their entire date, just so he’d be sure to never forget it.

Kurt frowned at his question. “Where have you been for the last seven months? We’ve been out a bunch of times.”

“I know, but doesn’t this feel different to you?”

It took a moment, but Kurt forced himself to carefully examine his feelings around their evening together. Confusion was slowly replaced by understanding as he allowed himself to realize that things had _changed_ now.

“You get it,” Blaine said, relief clear in his features as he watched Kurt closely. He’d come out of his shell a lot further in the few weeks he’d been living with Kurt and his family – but there was always a careful nature to him, as if he was convinced someone would pull the rug from under him any time. Saying anything that could be remotely construed as challenging was far out of his remit, generally.

Kurt nodded slowly, mulling the revelation over. “Yeah. What we did before was because going out was our only real option for time together and privacy, weird as that sounds.”

Blaine grinned, his breadstick long-forgotten. “And now?”

“Now, we’re doing this because even though I see you every day, I want to wine and dine you, too.” Kurt frowned at the lackluster meal in front of him, accompanied by a glass of diet coke. Hardly the lap of luxury. “Well, as close as we can manage when we’re underage and stuck in Nowhere, Ohio.”

“Exactly.” Blaine grinned, picking up his drink and clinking his glass against Kurt's. “Here's to a brave new world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/126115128080/the-heart-of-me-ch-1010)
> 
> Wow. Thanks to every single one of you who has taken time to read this fic, especially those of you who have left kudos and messages. I appreciate every single one of them.
> 
> There will be an epilogue (or outtake) to check in on the guys at some point - this was a GKM fill after all - but the main story is complete.
> 
> Until then, thank you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Title from _I Have Nothing _by Whitney Houston.__
> 
>   __  
> _This fic should update every Friday, and is projected to be between 5-10 chapters._  
>  Also posted on my tumblr [here](http://klainedrabbles.tumblr.com/post/120195194890/the-heart-of-me)


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